The Gilbert Sister
by smkbaby123
Summary: What if Elena had a twin sister? Would Elena be the doppelganger? And what about the love triangle? would that change too? Erin Gilbert will not be second best, and she is not Katherine. But, will history repeat itself?
1. The Return

**Hello everyone!So here is the Gilbert Sister story that I promised you! I am very excited for this story and if you have any ideas or suggestions for this story, please review! And also check out my other story, The Salvatore Sister!**

**Character Profile:**

**Was in the car with Elena and her parents when they drove off the bridge. She and Elena are both adopted, and their birth parents are Isobel and John Gilbert.**

**Appearance: Identical to Katherine and Elena. Has curly hair and wears outfits like Katherine's **

**Relationship Status: Single, Likes Damon, but has a weird bond with Stefan. Dated Tyler before her parents died.**

* * *

**The Return**

I walked up to my front door with my keys in one hand and my phone in the other. "I looked everywhere." I sighed. "What do you think, someone stole it?" My best friend, and sister's boyfriend asked. "Yeah, someone definitely took my stuff." "Want us to pick you up?" He asked me. I knew he was with Elena, so I replied, "Yeah I just gotta check on Jeremy before I go to the hospital. Can you guys meet me there?" "You bet." "Okay, thank you Stefan." "Your welcome, Erin." Stefan hung up and I walked inside my house. I looked up the staircase and called, "Jeremy? You up?" I heard a noise in the kitchen and I walked in to see mine and my twin sister, Elena's, biological father wounded on the floor.

I gasped and ran to help him. I put a towel over his wounds and dialed the phone. "911 what's your emergency?" "Hi. I-I need an ambulance to uh 2104 Maple Street." John was breathing heavily and was staring at something. "What?" I asked. "Behind you." I gasped and turned around to see nothing. I picked up the knife that was on the floor just in case. I stood up and looked around the house for anyone. I heard movement behind me, so I turned around. The vampire ran out the door of the house and I was a little shaken as I realized who was upstairs. "Jeremy." I breathed and sprinted up the staircase. Bursting into his room, I found him on the bed unconscious. I yelled his name and started shaking him. "Please, Jeremy wake up!" My brother gasped and awoke.

* * *

The ambulances came and pulled John out on a stretcher as Stefan walked through the door. The paramedic stopped him and I gave him the clear to let my best friend in. He embraced me and we then jogged up the stairs. "What happened?" Stefan asked me. "He said that Anna gave him her blood and then he took these pills now, I mean he looks fine, but then again so do you. So, I just- I don't know." I rambled on as Stefan looked at Jeremy. "I feel fine," Jeremy complained. "Should I call a paramedic up here, what should I do?" I questioned Stefan.

"No, no he's fine." Stefan concluded and I immediately felt relieved. "You mean I'm not a vampire? Damn it!" Jeremy snapped. I stared at him, my jaw dropped open. "Don't say that Jer, why would you want that?" Jeremy gaped at me, "Did you hear about Anna, about what happened tonight? She's dead." "Jeremy, Jeremy. Come here, sit down." Stefan pushed my brother onto the bed and held his face in place so that he was looking into Stefan's eyes. "I am so very sorry about Anna, but it's very important that you listen to me right now. With every passing moment, Anna's blood is leaving your system, so if you try to kill yourself right now, you could really die." I could tell that Jeremy was not listening at all to what Stefan was saying, so Stefan slapped him a little.

"Hey, do you understand me?" Stefan raised his voice at my brother. "Stefan," I warned him. "Yeah, I understand." Stefan then let go of Jeremy's face and said, "Good." I glanced at Jeremy and asked Stefan, "What about the pills he took?" "He didn't take enough to die, so the blood actually healed him of that." It was silent for a moment before there was a knocking at the door. "Miss Gilbert?" The paramedic said. "Um, I'll be right there." I assured him. Stefan faced me and stated, "You need to be at the hospital." I sent him a questioning look and started, "But-" "No, no. I'll stay here with Jeremy." I nodded, thankful that Stefan was willing to stay with my brother and watch out for him. "No, I don't need a babysitter." Jeremy argued, I rolled my eyes and stated, "Yes, you do."

* * *

I found Bonnie and Elena in the hallway of the hospital. "Guys, how's Caroline?" I asked them. "Not great...they don't know if she's going to make it." I put my hand over my mouth and Elena and Bonnie both hugged me. I retracted myself from them as Elena turned to Bonnie, "Is there something you can do? Like a spell or something?" My twin asked. "She doesn't know how. Do you?" I heard a voice behind us say. I turned to see Damon walking towards us. Bonnie looked down and replied, "No. I don't." Elena put her hands on her head and I rubbed her back. "no, you don't. Because it took Emily years to learn a spell like that." Damon rubbed it in to Bonnie.

I sighed, tired of all the drama and fighting. "I can take down a vampire, that spell was easy to learn." Bonnie goaded him. Damon turned to me with concerned eyes, "I can give Caroline some blood." I shook my head, "No, no way." I refused. "Just enough to heal her, she'll be safe here in the hospital, and it'll be out of her system in a day. She'll be better, Erin." I stared back at him, "It's too risky, I can't agree to that!" "Do it." Both Bonnie and Elena answered. My head snapped towards them as they gave me desperate looks, "This is Caroline. Okay? We can't let her die." Elena said. "Do it," Bonnie ordered Damon.

Damon pointed at Bonnie and offered, "If I do this, you and me, we call a truce." Damon smirked, but it dropped when Bonnie replied, "No, but you'll do it anyways, for Erin." _Woah! Getting super awkward in here! _I looked at both Bonnie and Elena and nodded, giving them the signal that I was okay with it. Bonnie then walked away from us, and Damon glared at Elena like he did not want her there. Elena would not budge though, she knew where she was not wanted. Damon gave up and turned to me, "Look, I know this is the last thing you want to do right now, but we should talk about what happened tonight." I nodded and told him, "Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got into the house and almost killed John."

Both Elena and Damon were taken back by this and exclaimed, "what?!" Damon then continued and asked, "When? what are talking about, after I left?" I furrowed by brow in confusion and questioned, "You were there?" I looked at Elena and she just shrugged. "C'mon Erin you know I was." Damon said. "When were you at the house?" I questioned him, totally confused at what game he was trying to play with me. "Really? Earlier...on the porch...talking...cathartic feelings...we kissed Erin!" I rolled my eyes and looked at Elena who was partly intrigued at the conversation, "Alright Damon, I don't have time for this." I started to walk away with Elena, but Damon grabbed my arm. "If you want to forget about it, fine. But I can't."

"Elena, Erin. I came as soon as I got your message, how's John?" Jenna interrupted our little pow wow. "Where have you been?"Elena asked her. Jenna looked confused as I nodded. "At the fire department, I had to fill out a report. I told you earlier, Erin." She accused me. I looked at her like she had three heads, "No you didn't." "Yes, I did." "No, Jenna you didn't." "Yes I did." We looked at each other stubbornly, I swore she did not tell me this, I did not even see her when I went to the house. "Oh...you've got to be kidding me!" Damon exclaimed. He gave me a 'we'll talk about this later' look and walked away. Elena and I both told Jenna that we would come back later, and we followed Damon out of the hospital and to the car.

The car ride was silent and we raced home. I walked into my house to find Stefan on the floor. "Stefan?" Elena asked. "Elena, Erin." He stated, I looked around at my trashed living room which I probably would have to clean up. "What happened?" I asked. Damon answered my question by saying, "Katherine happened." I was wide eyed as he said that, and my worst nightmare came true.

* * *

"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon asked. "No," Stefan responded. I had just informed Elena of what happened with Jeremy, so she decided to tell him everything. I knew that Jeremy and Elena needed some time together to mend their broken relationship, so I let Elena tell him. "Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance." Damon muttered. Stefan put on his brooding face and asked, "She said she fooled one of us at least, what does that-what does that mean?" "She pretended to be Erin too when I showed up earlier tonight." Just then, Elena entered the kitchen and told us all that she informed Jeremy of everything that happened. We can't lie to him anymore.

"I just thought with all the tomb vampires gone, things would get better." I whispered, knowing that they all could hear me. Stefan tried to comfort me by side hugging me and saying, "Me too." "Katherine's been in this house, which means she's been invited in. What are we gonna do?" Elena asked, with panic and worry in her voice. "Move." Damon concurred. I rolled my eyes and mustered up some attitude, "Very helpful, thanks." "If Katherine wants you dead, there is zero you can do about it, you will be dead. But you're not, so clearly she has other plans." Damon replied. "We need to find out what those plans are and not provoke her in the process." Stefan said, clearly meaning Damon. I removed myself from Stefan's embrace and sat down at the table.

"What happened tonight when you thought she was Erin?" Stefan questioned Damon. Damon, with his mouth gaped like a fish, finally came up with an answer. "To risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead...We kissed." Stefan's jaw clenched and confusion set into me, "And you thought it was me?" I asked him. "What do you mean you kissed?" Stefan said in a deadly tone. "You know, when two lips puck and they go *smooching sound*" Stefan flashed towards Damon, but Damon appeared right next to me. "Don't be obvious Stefan, your girlfriend is right there."

Stefan walked towards Damon and I shot up and got in the middle of them. "Hey, Stefan. He kissed Katherine, not me. I wouldn't do that." Elena stared at me and Stefan, trying to decipher what was going on between us. I sighed, "We don't have time for this guys." Elena nodded, agreeing with me. I looked at her with an unspoken communication that said 'later'. Stefan and Damon seemed to have the same thing, but Stefan just stated, "Later." "John must know something, there has to be a reason why she would kill him." Elena deduced, she really was good to have around. Nice thinking twin!

"She's Katherine! She loves to play games, and you're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she planning before she wants you to know." Damon sneered, I really did not know what his true feeling for her were, or even his true feelings for me. "Actually, Elena's right. John could know something through Isobel." Stefan defended my sister, he really confused me also. "Your mother was involved with Katherine so maybe we could go to the hospital and get him to talk." Stefan offered me and Elena. "I have a better idea." Damon stated, and I turned my head to look at him. "And what's that?" I snapped. "I'm just gonna ignore the bitch...and you're especially feisty today, I like it." Damon winked at me and I rolled my eyes. He just had to put in a flirty little comment and the eye thing which I told him not to do a few hours ago.

"Is that smart?" Elena asked him. "If she thinks we're ignoring her, it'll lure her out. She'll make a move." Damon explained. "And then what?" Stefan asked again. 'Stake her, rip her head off, something poetic. We'll see." Damon said then walked out. I sighed and faced Elena and Stefan, "You guys go see John, I'll stay here." Elena seemed worried and asked, "Are you sure you're okay?" I nodded and breathed, "Yeah, I'm just processing."

* * *

I showed up at the Lockwood's to pay my respects and to see if Tyler was okay. He was still my friend after everything, and I wanted to be there for him. I stood by him while he greeted guests at the front door. We had a random conversation about the new Spiderman movie when we saw a black truck roll up to the front of the house. An incredibly handsome Mason Lockwood stepped out of the car. "So, the black sheep returns." Tyler announced. Mason looked questioningly at Ty and then asked, "Tyler? What happened to you? Last time I saw you, you were 12 years old." Mason said charmingly, I swooned. "Well that's 2 years older than the last time you saw me." The two macho men hugged it out, and then he noticed me.

"Erin? Little Erin Gilbert?" Mason asked me in shock. I nodded and blushed, "Hey Mason." I greeted him. Mason smiled and said, "Wow, you really grew up. So, where's your boyfriend?" I laughed and told him, "I don't have one. And thanks." Tyler rolled his eyes at our flirting and ushered us both inside. I could see Damon talking to Liz, but I ignored him. I really did not want to talk to him right now, so I spent some much needed time with my Lockwoods. We all talked and laughed, with the occasional flirting between myself and Mason.

I then looked over my shoulder to see Damon staring intensely at me with a weird look in in his eyes. _Jealousy? No, he couldn't be jealous. _He called over Liz who then looked at us as well. I shrugged and let them stare as Mason laughed at one of my jokes. Tyler then excused himself to go back to greeting, but I did not seem to mind. Mason and I kept talking for what felt like seconds, but it was actually for half an hour. I quickly realized what time it was and excused myself to go find my family because they were supposed to meet me here. I found Elena on the front porch with Damon, "Damon, I really want to know how you're doing." Elena told him. "Your sister and I kissed, I thought she kissed me back, doppelganger hijinks ensued, how do you think I'm doing?" Damon answered her. "I think you're hurt." Elena stated bluntly. Jeez, Lena, way to come out with it.

"No, I don't get hurt Elena." Damon argued. "No, you don't admit that you get hurt. You get angry, cover it up, and then you do something stupid." Elena elaborated. "You're scared." Damon implored. "You think Katherine's gonna send me off the deep end, don't you? I don't need her for that." Damon started to walk away after he was greeted with silence by Elena. Suddenly, he turned around and pried, "You know what? Why is it such a surprise that I would kiss Erin?" "That was not a surprise." Elena asserted, and Damon smirked, but it fell when she finished her sentence. "I'm just surprised that you thought she would kiss you back." Damon looked away and said, "Now I'm hurt."

Bonnie then came rushing towards me, "Erin!" I looked at her, concerned, "Bonnie, what happened?"

* * *

I looked around the property, trying to find Stefan and Katherine, but I came across with nothing. I ventured into one of the rooms and found Mayor Lockwood's office with Mason and Tyler in it. Mason was handing Tyler a flask when I grabbed it and took a swig. Tyler looked at me curiously, while Mason just looked amused. "Trust me, I could use this right now." Was all I said to them before attempting to head out. Tyler's voice stopped me, "Hey, Gilbert!" I turned around and Ty walked up to me. He hugged me and I wrapped my arms around him for the first time in a long time. Since we dated before my parents died. "Thank you for being here today, you're a good friend." I smiled at him and Mason, Tyler returned the favor and Mason winked at me. I laughed and left the room.

I got a text from Elena shortly after that said

_Stefan and Katherine are by the lake, hurry up and get to them. Mrs. Lockwood won't stop talking to me!_

_-Lena_

I sighed and quickly made my way over to the lake to see Stefan on the ground with blood all over his shirt. "We really need to stop meeting like this today." I told him, and he laughed. I used tissues from my purse to clean off the blood, but it wasn't helping that much. "You going to be okay?" I asked my best friend, he nodded and said, "It'll heal." I sighed and countered, "That's not what I meant." Stefan looked down and shook his head. "I was trying to figure her out, I was playing along. I let her get to me." I heard Damon's footsteps behind me, "I tried to track her, but she's gone." He then scrunched his eyes and looked away from Stefan's incredible six pack and complained, "Cover up, Fabio. We've got a crazy ex on the loose. Better watch out, looks like Katherine's trying to steal your sister's guy." Stefan defended himself and muttered, "That's not what's happening." "Isn't it?" Damon sneered and continued, "It's only fair since I went after your best friend."

I groaned, "Not this again! I am going to go check on Elena, Jenna and Jeremy. I'll see you guys when you're done." With that, I got up and walked away. I found them all together, talking to Mrs. Lockwood. I payed my respects and we all went home together.

* * *

I changed into my pajamas and walked out of my bathroom. I gasped, frightened for a moment before realizing that it was only Damon sitting on my bed. "You scared me." I stated the obvious. "Just doing my part in the neighborhood watch." He said numbly. "Thanks for looking out for us, for me." I murmured. "That's me, trusty bodyguard, calm in a crisis." Damon quipped, but it sounded different, he slurred his words. "Have you been drinking?" I inquired, wanting to hear what he had to say. Damon motioned with his fingers that he had been drinking, I sighed, knowing what that meant. "And you're upset, that's not a good combination." "No, I'm not upset. Upset is an emotion specific to those who care." I rolled my eyes, he did this all the time with me.

"C'mon Damon, that's a lie. You care." He then turned on me and started putting Elena's words into my mouth. "You're surprised that I thought you would kiss me back. You can't imagine that I'd believe you'd want to." I decided to interrupt him before he went too far. "Damon-" "That what we've been doing here means something." I stayed quiet for a moment and just let him continue because I did not know what to say. "You're the liar, Erin. There is something going on between the two of us and you know it. And you're lying to me, and you're lying to Stefan, and to Elena, but most importantly you're lying to yourself. I can prove it." He attempted to grab my face. but I said no.

I would not be someone's replacement, I was not Katherine. "Damon, don't. What's wrong with you?" I questioned him. "Lie about this, "He ignored my question as he tried to kiss me again. "Stop it, you're better than this, c'mon!" I exclaimed, trying to reach his good side. "That's were you're wrong." He kissed me again, but I tried pushing him back. "Listen, listen Damon! Look, I care about you! I care about you so much, but I can't do this! You're drunk and unstable. I will not be a rebound, Damon. I am not going to be your second choice because I am not Katherine, so don't make me out to be her!"

Just then, Jeremy walked into the room, "What's going on in here?" He asked. "Nothing, Jer. Go back to bed." I told him, not wanting him to be caught in the crossfire of what was an unstable Damon Salvatore. "No, it's not okay, Erin. He wants to be a vampire." Then, Damon holds Jeremy up to the wall and I called, "No! Damon, stop it!" "You want to shut it off? It's the easiest thing in the world! The part of you that cares just goes away. All you have to do is flip the switch and snap!" Damon snapped Jeremy's neck as he said the last word.

"NO!" As my world came crashing down, I could tell that Damon started to sober up. I ran to Jeremy's side, cradling his head in my chest like I did when we were little, and whenever he was sad. I tried shaking him to wake him up, but it did nothing. I balled my eyes out, but I was relieved to see the ring that lay on Jeremy's finger. He would come back. I called Stefan, he would know what to do. He came as fast as he could, entering my room and seeing Jeremy limp in my arms. I told him what happened and he snapped. "It was Katherine, she undid everything that was good about him." I shook my head in disagreement and sobbed, "There's nothing good about him. Stefan, not anymore. He's decided what he wants. He wants to be hated, it's just easier that way. He got his wish. I hate him, Stefan."

Stefan rubbed circles on my arm in a comforting manner and kissed my head. Finally, Jeremy woke up with a gasp. Immediately, Stefan grabbed his face like he did last night and said, "He's okay, he's okay." Relieved, I kissed Jeremy's head and hugged him. "Damon killed me, he killed me." Jeremy repeated. I tried to soothe him by saying, "It's okay, it's okay." And I just gave a relieved smile, my brother was alive.


	2. Brave New World

**No POV**

"Katherine looked just like you two. It was freakish." Bonnie told the Gilbert twins.

"Well, she is our ancestor." Elena said before ordering, "We need to move those two booths to the cafeteria."

"Your vampire ancestor. And she didn't just resemble you guys like a family member would, she was you." Bonnie stressed to her best friends.

"We can't explain it, okay? It's creepy, that's all I got." Erin expressed, still partly distracted by her conflicting emotions.

Bonnie then turned to Erin and asked, "Well how do you know she is still out there pretending to be you?"

"I don't. I could sit here and be tortured by not knowing or I could get these prizes the ring toss." Erin opened a bag full of prizes with her back turned to her sister and her best friend.

"Well have you talked to Damon since he killed Jeremy, or tried to kill Jeremy?" Bonnie asked them. They both froze and answered "No."

Erin then spoke, "I haven't and I won't and I don't want to talk about Damon or anything else that is vampire related okay?" She then handed Bonnie the bag of snakes as she said, "Copy that."

"We're human, and we have to do human stuff or else we will go crazy." Elena stated with her authoritative voice that Erin thought was funny.

"Okay, focus. We have to make Caroline proud, or else she will kill all of us. I don't know how she does this all of the time." Bonnie joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Erin smirked, "Because she is not human, obviously." The girls laughed and moved onto look at everything else.

* * *

"This is vervain, you have to put this in the bracelet that Erin gave you." Stefan told Jeremy.

"To protect against compulsion." Jeremy finished, as he smelt the substance.

"Vervain is toxic to vampires." Stefan explained as Jeremy looked at him. "Like poison?" The younger boy asked.

"Exactly like poison, it keeps them out of your head." "But why vervain?" He asked again, full of questions for the vampire.

"I don't know. Certain natural herbs that are just harmful to vampires." Stefan said. "Like a stake to the heart?" Jeremy questioned.

"Right, but it has to be wood." Stefan corrected. "You're pretty confident in yourself by telling me the ways that I could kill you." Jeremy said.

Stefan scoffed, "Jeremy, if I thought you would kill me, we would be having a much different conversation right now." "And Damon is the one that deserves it." Jeremy stated.

"Hey, I want you to forget about Damon. He is a hundred times stronger than you, and he is not very stable, so just try to move forward." Stefan urged his love's brother.

"I was killed by a vampire and brought back from a magic ring, how do you move forward from that?" Jeremy asked him. "Well right now we have a little diatraction courtesy of the slave driver Erin. Hello Erin." Stefan greeted his best friend with a smile.

"Hey, um did you-" Erin started, but got interrupted by her little brother, "Yeah, yeah brought the goldfish to the ring toss, all 300 goldfish. It's gonna be epic." He said sarcastically before walking away.

Erin sighed and slumped against the lockers. "He's gonna be okay, he's just been through a bit of an ordeal." Stefan assured his best friend.

"I was just hoping that this carnival would reel him back into the land of high school teenager." Erin explained. "Oh, is that what we are doing here?" Stefan asked playfully.

"Yes, we all are. We are gonna be boring high school students who live in a world where the 'v' word is not uttered." She told him. "Got it." Stefan stated.

"And later, we are gonna go around to all the booths and you are going to win me a prize, then you are gonna get me some cotton candy, and we are gonna be like normal high school besties. Do you see a running theme here?" She asked him playfully.

"Yeah, yeah I see it. I'm liking it, but I have a quick question. Uh, what do we do about Damon?" Stefan questioned her, but she put her finger up to silence him. "Uh, no 'd' word, okay? That has been deleted from the topics that we can discuss."

"Unfortunately, Katherine showing up has thrown him a little off kilter. It's kinda dangerous, who knows what he's up to." Stefan uttered.

* * *

Tyler and Mason caught their breath as they walked through he door of the Lockwood Mansion. Damon eavesdropped on their conversation. "What was that, seven?" Tyler asked. "Six", Mason answered. "Don't count the last one. You crawled it." He accused Tyler who said, "What?"

"Think Grandma Lockwood actually passed you in her walker!" Mason chuckled as sweat dripped off of him. "Yeah, okay." Tyler said, rolling his eyes. "Shoes off. Mud, my mom." Tyler made a motion that said no and Mason replied with "Cool."

"So, what is going on between you and Erin Gilbert?" Mason asked Tyler as he drank some water. Tyler shrugged and told him, "We used to date last year, but then her parents died and she dumped me. We've been friends ever since, but nothing else. Why do you ask? Got a crush on her or something?"

Mason smiled at his nephew and said, "Just wondering." Tyler gave him a look that said 'are you kidding?' and Mason just laughed and added, "Maybe."

He decided to change the subject from his nephew's ex and asked, "So,all this anger and aggression you're talking about. Do you notice a difference when you exercise?" Tyler shook his head and said, "Dude, I play three varsity sports. I work out three time a week, I run three. I'm gonna have to say no."

"Do you have episodes? I mean what happens exactly?" Mason continued. "It starts out normal, I get angry. I'm an angry guy, it just amplifies and then I go off." Tyler answered his uncle truthfully, happy to have someone to talk to.

"You black out?" Mason guessed. "Yeah. Its like I go blind with rage." Tyler answered as he was about to go to his room. "Is there a pattern? Once a month, only at night?" Tyler shook his head. "All I know is that I lose myself. You know? By that time I become something else. I hate it." Tyler revealed, not knowing that Damon heard everything.

As Tyler walked up the staircase, he stopped and said, "For the record, I wouldn't mind if you went after Erin. She's a great girl, and she's my best friend." He left Mason feeling a bit more confident in himself.

* * *

Stefan walked into the Salvatore Boarding House to see his brother Damon pouring himself a drink. "Hey, want some?" Damon asked, knowing that Stefan would decline.

"No, I just ate." Stefan refused. Damon smirked and said, "Aren't you worried that one day, all the forest animals will band together and fight back. I mean, surely they talk."

"I'm just happy that its a blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner." Stefan told him. "I like this. You walking on eggshells around me because you think I'm gonna explode. It's very suspenseful, is Erin worried too? I bet I'm the topic of every one of your conversations." Damon smirked as Stefan's jaw clenched.

"Have you heard from Katherine?" Stefan asked. "I think the Lockwoods have a family secret." Damon changed the subject. "Cause the Gilbert device affected them, but vervain didn't, so they're not vampires. They're something else." He continued.

"Is this your new obsession?" Stefan guessed. "Well, if you rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant through our town, fin. I'll drop it." Damon goaded his little brother.

"We haven't seen the last of Katherine, you do know that right? We have no idea what she's up to." Stefan said. Damon scoffed, "Sure we do. She came back to profess her undying eternal love for you. So, I'm gonna let you deal with her because I have more important things to do, like explode."

"Cheers." Damon said to Stefan as he walked out of the room.

* * *

Erin looked around as everyone enjoyed the carnival when Bonnie came up to her. "The ring toss is out of Barbie dolls and Team Jacob tees." Bonnie informed her. Erin nodded and said, "Alright, I can grab some from the science club. Also, we lost a speaker in the karaoke booth."

"Hey it's all good Erin. Take a beat, look around, this is a huge success." Bonnie ordered her best friend. "You mean, I can do more than wreck vampire havoc?" Erin teased.

The girls both laughed as Erin looked around to see a man fixing something. "Uh, Carter, right? You're with the carnival." Erin stated, needing help. "Yeah, that's me." Carter confirmed.

Carter looked at Bonnie and asked, "Wow, how may I help you?" Bonnie blushed and questioned, "What do you know about karaoke speakers?"

Carter smiled and said, "Why don't you show me the problem?" Erin smiled and looked at Bonnie sheepishly, "Yeah Bonnie, show him the problem." Erin smiled as the pair walked away.

Erin then went inside to check up on the other booths when she ran into Mason. "Hey you!" Mason greeted her. "Hey! What's up?" She asked with a smile on her face. "Nothing, have you seen Tyler?" He asked her. She shrugged and told him, "I don't know, but I do know Ty. He will most likely be at the arm wrestling booth." They both laughed and headed over there together.

They then watched as Tyler beat one guy after the other, throwing in the occasional snarky comment. Erin then saw Stefan and Damon on the sideline as well, talking to each other in a hushed tone.

Mason then took Erin's arm and ushered her towards the booth. "I bet I can take you." Mason goaded Tyler. Tyler said hello to Erin and said, "Bring it on. Erin here will watch my victory." Mason then shook his head and argued.

"On the contrary, she is here to laugh at you for losing. But, hey, let's make it interesting. The winner gets a kiss?" Mason looked over at Erin who rolled her eyes. "Fine," She told them as the bell rung for them to start.

They both struggled for a moment before Mason slammed Tyler's hand down. "Is that it?" Mason taunted Tyler who looked at Erin and said, "Alright, he's the champion."

Erin laughed and patted Tyler on the back as Mason went up to her. Mason locked his lips with hers as he heard a growl come from one of the Salvatore's. Mason smirked as Erin pulled away and blushed.

"Okay, who wants to go next?" Erin asked the crowd. "Uh, Stefan wants to go." Damon called and Stefan looked at him with a 'what the hell' look. "Yeah, sure. I'll give it a shot." Stefan looked at Erin as he went up to the table.

"Go Stefan!" Erin rooted for her best friend as Mason gave her a look. She then feigned innocence as she looked around and said "Who said that?". Stefan and Mason chuckled at her and Damon looked on in amusement, curiosity in his eyes as the men faced off.

"My brother over there thinks that I can beat you." Stefan revealed to Mason. "Your brother is wrong." Mason argued before the ding of the bell went off.

A struggle was visible before Mason slammed Stefan's hand down onto the table. Both Erin and Damon were disappointed. Erin made her way over to the brothers after bidding Mason and Tyler goodbye. "You didn't even put in any effort at all." Damon accused him.

"Yeah, actually I did." Stefan claimed as Erin popped up next to him. "And the traitor shows up." Damon exclaimed. Stefan rolled his eyes and Erin leaned against Stefan.

"I'm not a traitor, I just don't like you." She retorted causing Stefan to laugh. Damon then pulled them both into the hallway and asked, "Is he?"

Stefan then disagreed, "No, no. It wasn't that kind of strength. But, it was more than human if that makes sense." Damon then grew confused, "What is with that family?"

Erin's head snapped toward Damon, "Excuse me? There is nothing supernatural about the Lockwoods. I have known them my whole life." Damon then retorted with, "Yeah and you seem pretty chummy with them, by the way. Aka, traitor."

Stefan then popped his head up, "Oh, maybe they're ninja turtles!" This caused Erin to erupt with laughter. Damon then turned to him and snapped, "You're not funny."

"Oh or maybe they're zombies, werewolves!" Stefan added with a smile, pinching Erin's side in the process. Damon groaned, "No comedic timing at all." Erin kept laughing with Stefan, and Damon could not help the jealous feeling that came over him. He wanted to make her laugh like that, he wanted to make her happy. _Would it always be Stefan for her too?_

Damon then broke out of his thoughts as he turned to look at Carter. "What?" Stefan asked, the laughter now gone from his face. "Since this is reality and there is no thing as zombies and combat turtles." "A ninja turtle." Erin clarified, making Damon roll his eyes.

Damon strolled up to Carter and got his attention. "Hey, you." He called. "I have a name." Carter retorted. "I don't care." Damon said before compelling him. "I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood." Erin tried to protest, but Damon shushed her. "Get him mad, and don't back down no matter what he does, okay?"

Carter then robotically walked away and then Stefan said, "You know someone's gonna get hurt, right?" "No, someone's gonna get mad." Damon argued. "And what is that gonna accomplish?" Stefan asked with Erin on his side. "That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight. Let's see who intervenes. It might be the ambiguously supernatural man whore mystery uncle." Damon then walked into another hallway by himself, leaving Erin and Stefan alone.

"He is such an ass." Erin groaned. Stefan then threw a comforting arm around her shoulder. "I know. Now, why don't we go play some games and I will buy you some cotton candy." Stefan suggested and Erin laughed, following him to the throwing game where he won her a big koala.

Stefan then left to check up on the fight between Carter and Tyler while Erin went to go check up on some of the booths. Damon then came up to her after some time and ordered her to come with him.

Damon then proceeded to tell Elena, Stefan, and Erin of what happened between him and Caroline. "how did this happen?" Stefan asked him. "Well, I fed her some blood, Katherine obviously killed her. A plus B equals." Damon trailed off.

"But why?" Elena questioned. "Because Katherine is a manipulative nasty little slut." Damon sneered. "She said game on, what the hell does that mean?" Erin asked them.

"It means she's playing dirty, she wants us to know." Damon answered her. "But why Caroline?" Elena asked. No one had any clue as to why and silence greeted them all before Stefan said, "Caroline has no idea whats happening to her, she must be going out of her mind."

Damon scoffed, "She knows exactly whats going on. All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minute she was in transition." "We have to find her." Stefan concluded.

"Yup, and kill her." Damon stated. Erin and Elena looked at each other in horror and Erin spoke up, "You're not gonna kill Caroline!"

"She knows what we are, she's officially a liability. We have to get rid of her." Damon reasoned. "Damon, absolutely not." Stefan argued with him.

"May I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Yeah, Caroline of all people will not make as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys, we all know how this story is going to go, so let's flip to the last chapter and-" Damon started before Erin interrupted him.

"It's not an option Damon!" Erin exclaimed. "No? Your silence is deafening, Stefan." The twins looked over to Stefan in shock. "Wait, wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where history repeats itself."

Erin got up to storm out of the room, but Damon's voice stopped her, "You know I'm right." Stefan then went up to his brother and told him, "We're not going to kill her." Elena also started to get up as Damon muttered to her, "It's the only way."

* * *

"You agree with Damon, don't you?" Elena asked her boyfriend. When he didn't answer, Elena said, "Stefan?" Frustrated, Stefan punched the side of the cotton candy vendor's station. Erin then exclaimed, "Cotton Candy!" Elena then gave her twin a look that said 'shut up and focus'.

"Stefan, hey." Erin spoke softly. "Damon's right. Not about what we should do, but what will happen. Katherine already signed Caroline's death sentence." Stefan stated.

Erin shook her head, she had much more confidence in her neurotic friend, "That's not true, Caroline is one of the strongest people I know. With help, she can be an amazing vampire."

"Well we can't let it end the way Damon thinks." Elena mumbled. They were all silent until Elena said, "She's doing this to us, isn't she?" Stefan scoffed, "Actually, she's doing this to me."

Stefan, Elena, and Erin ran up to Damon and Caroline as he was about to stake her. Stefan pushed Damon off of her, and Erin and Elena tried to comfort Caroline. "Get away from me! You killed me!" Caroline shouted fearfully.

"No, no, no Caroline. That wasn't me, you know that wasn't Erin. That was Katherine!" Elena tried to reason with her. "No! Then why did she look like you? Why! Why did she do this to me?!" Caroline screeched.

"Stefan, we have to get her inside." Erin told him, concerned about her friend. "It's alright, Caroline come with me." Stefan told her, grabbing her hand.

"She will die, it's only a matter of time." Damon said coolly. "Maybe, but it's not going to be tonight." Stefan countered.

"Oh yeah, it is." Damon then sped over to the stake and almost killed Caroline, but Erin stepped in front of her. "Damon, she's my friend." Erin snapped. Damon then backed away and pointed at Erin, "Whatever happens, it's on you."

Bonnie then appeared from behind them. "Caroline?" She questioned. When Bonnie got a look of her bloody face, she realized what happened. Rushing over to Carter's dead body, Bonnie gasped, "No."

Erin then pushed Stefan and Caroline inside to get Caroline cleaned up. Elena followed them in, and Erin had to deal with Bonnie. "I can't believe this is happening." Bonnie cried.

"Oh, don't pout about it. We've got a body to bury. Thought you were calling the shots, no? Sucks to be you buddy." Damon ranted until he was hit with a jolt of pain.

Damon started groaning and fell on the ground while Bonnie used her powers to turn on the hose. "I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt." Bonnie stated.

"I didn't do this." Damon grumbled as the pain continued. "Bonnie, this wasn't his fault." Erin argued. "Everything that's happened is his fault, Erin." Bonnie bellowed.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Erin questioned her as the water finally reached Damon's body. The water then turned to fire and Erin pleaded, "Bonnie, Bonnie stop it. Stop Bonnie!"

Bonnie continued as the fire spread to Damon's leg, effectively catching it on fire. Damon tried swatting it in an attempt to put it out, but nothing worked. "Bonnie stop you're going to kill him!" Erin yelled at her.

Erin realized nothing was working, so she jumped over the line of fire and shook her best friend so she lost her concentration. Bonnie, now furious exclaimed, "Why? Why did you stop me?!" "Because this isn't us, Bon. This can't be us." Erin told Bonnie. The girls hugged and left Damon lying on the ground.

* * *

Erin opened her locker and took some things out of it to study with as Stefan approached her. "Hey," He said. "Caroline's okay for now, I'm gonna check in on her later." Stefan told Erin, knowing what she was going to ask.

"What about the guy that she..." Erin tried to say 'killed', but it just couldn't come out of her mouth. Stefan sighed and told her, "It's taken care of."

Erin nodded and looked down at her feet. "Elena and Damon think that it's not gonna end well for her." She said. Stefan grabbed her chin in his hand and looked her in the eyes and whispered, "We are going to make sure that they are wrong."

Erin sighed, "I just can't believe what this day has turned into." Stefan knew what she was feeling all too well. "Not just a normal day, huh?" Erin reached into her locker to grab her book and vented to her best friend.

"I was stupid to think that this day could be normal. Nothing about my life is normal anymore. My best friends are a vampire and a witch, and I have a doppelganger who is hell bent on destroying all of us." Stefan looked at her with an apologetic look and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Erin shook her head, "It's not your fault, Stef. It's no one's fault, you know? It is what it is." Stefan cupped her face and she continued, "i'm fine, i'm fine. It's just-you know what? I'm fine. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Erin shut her locker, said goodnight, and walked away.

* * *

Erin slept in her bed as Stefan came up and ran a hand over a cheek, admiring her for a second before she woke up. "Hi, what time is it?" She asked groggily. Stefan said nothing, he just motioned for her to move over in the bed. She did and he revealed a bag full of stuff that he was holding.

Erin smiled at her best friend, he was full of surprises. Erin dug into the bag as Stefan got comfortable in her bed. She laughed as she saw all the junk food in it, and a few movies. At the bottom of the bag, Erin dug out a tub of cotton candy. "You remembered." Erin said to him, as he smiled at her.

"Why did you do all of this?" She asked him. "We have to take these moments, Erin. What Katherine did to Caroline could be the beginning, and there's things with Tyler's family that we don't understand yet, and there's also the 'd' word. But, I came back to this town to spend a life with you and Elena. We can't forget to live it." Stefan told her truthfully.

She nodded and hugged her best friend. Pretty soon they were eating and laughing like always, and Stefan just spent some time looking at her. "What?" Erin laughed. Stefan smiled, "It's just so nice to see you laugh." Erin rolled her eyes and said, "You're such a softie!"

They both chuckled, but Erin then asked solemnly, "It's not gonna get any easier is it?" Stefan just sighed and shook his head, "No, it's not."


	3. Bad Moon Rising

Alaric walked through the door of the Boarding House when Stefan greeted him, "Thanks for coming, Ric." He said.

"Can I get you something to drink? Bourbon? Coffee? Bourbon in your coffee?" Damon joked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Elena and Erin mentioned that you needed my help." Alaric sat down as Stefan replied, "Yeah, we were hoping you could shed some light on the Lockwood family.

I sat on the couch next to Elena, who was being super clingy with Stefan. I mean, I did like Stefan, he was my best friend, but that was it, right?

"And why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?" Ric asked us. "Well you wouldn't, but your dead-not dead vampire wife might." Damon answered him.

"Isobel's research, from when you were at Duke together." Elena said, and Stefan added, "You said that she had spent years researching this town."

Alaric sighed and explained, "Isobel's research here, in Mystic Falls, was mainly rooted in folklore and legend. At the time, I thought most of which was just fiction."

"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon mocked him and raised his eyebrows. "Aside from vampires, what else?" Elena questioned our aunt's flame.

"Lycanthrope." Alaric answered, and we all looked at each other, confused until I spoke up, "Werewolves."

"No way, impossible. Way too Lon Chaney." Damon argued. "Is it?" Stefan countered, and Damon answered. "I've been on this planet 160 some odd years, never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?"

"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?" Alaric asked us. "Because vervain didn't affect the mayor on Founder's Day, but the Gilbert device did. And it affected his son, Tyler."

"And at the school carnival, his uncle, Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought one of the carnival workers. We think it suggests a supernatural entity." Damon then looked at me and stated, "Also, Mason has a crush on Erin, so we gotta assume that whoever likes Erin is supernatural."

I glared at Damon and he just winked at me. "We were hoping that Isobel's research would help us find out what it is." Elena explained to Alaric. "Well her things are at Duke, her office is still there. She is technically still missing." Ric told us.

"Well, can we get access to it?" Damon asked Ric. Alaric sort of shook his head a little, but Damon pressed on the matter. "Ric, we don't know what we're dealing with. If this wolf man thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. It means that Mason Lockwood is a real life Lon Chaney, and that little Tyler punk may be Lon Chaney Jr., which means that Bella Lugosey, meaning me, is totally screwed."

* * *

"Are you sure you two wanna do this?" Stefan asked Elena and me as we packed to go to Duke. "Which part, digging through our birth mother's lifework," I started as Elena finished with, "Or going to Duke with Damon."

I knew that Elena hated Damon, but she put a lot of bitterness and resentment into that sentence that it startled me, and by the look on Stefan's face, it surprised him as well.

"Either, both." Stefan answered us, but he looked at Elena curiously as she stuffed her bag. "Well, I'm sure about the first part. But Ric is a good buffer, so we can all bond in our anti- Damon solidary." I stated.

Stefan smiled at me, and I could see Elena's frustration build up. "I wish you were coming, though." Elena complained, and my eyes went wide, that was very desperate. Stefan stood up from the edge of the bed and looked at us.

"You, know what, why don't we give it a couple days huh? We can wait till Caroline's less of a danger so I can go with you two." Stefan offered, and Elena looked at him with sad eyes, "It's okay that I'm going, right? And be honest because if it's not then I can stay home and we can help Caroline together. She needs all the help she can get if she doesn't want to kill people." Elena asked her boyfriend.

"No, listen I want you to go. You both have questions about your lineage and about Katherine. Look, I'm not going to let the fact that Damon's going get in the way of you guys getting some answers." Stefan shook his head as he talked.

"You hate it though, right?" I asked him playfully with a smile on my face. He smirked at me and repeated, "I hate it." We all chuckled and I grabbed my bag and went downstairs with them following me as we heard the sound of a horn and Jenna calling our names.

We walked past Jenna and she smiled at me. Elena stopped to talk with her about something, but Stefan and I kept strolling to the car. "Hey, um do you know what is wrong with her?" Stefan asked me. I shrugged and said, "Damon killed our brother, and my bet is that she is putting all of her frustrations and anger onto one target: Damon."

Stefan nodded and Elena ran up to him. I walked up to the car and threw my bag into the back. "Sorry you can't come too, Stef." Damon fake pouted as Stefan rolled his eyes. I turned to Stefan as he told me, "Call me if you need anything." I nodded as Damon interjected, "I'll take real good care of her."

Stefan hugged me and went to peck Elena on the cheek, but she would not have that. Elena grabbed Stefan's face and practically started making out with him in front of everyone. Damon and I just looked at each other awkwardly as Stefan struggled to keep up with Elena.

A laugh escaped my mouth as Elena pretty much tried to stick her tongue down Stefan's throat. Damon then stated, "Okay, that's enough. Time to go." Stefan opened the door for Elena and I. Smiling at my best friend; I hopped inside the car as he shut the door after me. "Bye." He waved at me as the car started and went into motion.

* * *

About half an hour into our journey, my phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Hello?" "Hey Erin! I'm having a party today at the swimming hole on the Old Lockwood property. Remember when we were little and you and I used to run around over there?" Tyler asked me, and I laughed, nostalgic for the old times.

"I remember." I assured him. "You should come and drop by." Tyler urged me, and I could tell that Damon was listening in to the conversation. "I'm sorry Ty, I can't. I am currently on a trip to Duke, you know, looking at colleges and stuff." I hated lying to Tyler, but I had to.

"That's okay, when you come back I'm sure there will be another party. But I do wish that you were here. Anyways, I gotta go. I'll see you later, Gilbert." Tyler said, and I told him goodbye as well.

"How are you doing back there?" Damon asked us as he patted my knee. I slapped his hand and he said, "You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is kinda getting old."

Alaric scoffed, "I don't think they're pretending, you did kill their brother." Damon rolled his eyes, "There is a huge astrofix to that statement, he came back to life."

"Yeah, thanks to a ring you didn't know he was wearing." Elena snapped. "Why are you so sure I didn't know?" Damon questioned, and I butted into the conversation, "Did you?" I asked him.

"Yes." He stated. Elena squinted her eyes at him, "You're lying." Damon groaned, "Elena, I saw the ring. It's a big tacky thing, it's hard to miss."

* * *

Thankfully, soon after we approached the entrance to Duke. We walked through the door as Alaric explained, "Isobel was employed by the Anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomena rooted in folklore."

We then saw a girl at a desk, and Alaric introduced himself and shook her hand, "Hi, I'm Alaric Saltzman. I called earlier." "Yes, of course I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, Comparative Folklore." Vanessa then looked at Elena, Damon, and I weirdly, almost cautiously.

"Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys." She said. Alaric then introduced us to her. "These are my friends Damon, Elena, and Erin. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."

"No, please. Isobel's office is right through there. Isobel was on of my first professors, she was brilliant, one of the reasons I went into folklore. I have to ask, is there any news?" She asked Alaric who shook his head. He, of course knew what became of my biological mother and his wife.

"No, I'm afraid not." He lied to her, and she showed us the way to her office before telling us she would turn on a light. Elena and I walked over to one of the shelves when I heard some noise come from the other room, "Hey, where'd she go?" I questioned.

Suddenly, Vanessa came out from the other room with a crossbow in her hands, pointed at Elena. Quickly, I got in front of my twin before Vanessa shot the arrow. Once she fired it, I prepared for the impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes to come face to face with Damon, who took the arrow for me.

* * *

Alaric took Vanessa into the other room while Elena and I got stuck with Damon. Elena stood behind Damon as he told her to pull the arrow out. "Pull it out, Elena, it hurts." Damon ordered her. Elena wouldn't do it, so I got in front of her, took the arrow, and pulled it out of his back. Damon shivered a little bit, trying to numb the pain. "That bitch is dead." He stated and tried to leave, but I blocked him.

"You are not killing her." I commanded him. "Watch me." Damon winked at me seductively. "You touch her, and I swear I will never speak to you again." Elena snapped at Damon who raised his eyebrows.

"What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for your sister? You are severely overestimating yourself." Damon tried to put his arm around me, but I pushed it away.

"I forgot that I was speaking to a psychotic mind who snaps and kills people impulsively. Fine, go ahead, do whatever you want." I could tell that Elena was trying to manipulate him, but I had no idea if it would work.

"You're trying to manipulate me." Damon stated, figuring out what she was doing. "If by manipulate, you mean tell the truth? Okay, guilty." Elena said. I did not want any part in this conversation. When Damon didn't answer, Elena took my hand and pulled me out of the room.

I opened the door and saw Vanessa almost hyperventilating at the desk. Alaric nodded at me, telling me that it was okay to speak. "My name is Erin Gilbert, and this is my twin sister, Elena Gilbert. We are Isobel's daughters and descendants of Katherine Pierce. And this is Damon Salvatore who you just shot." I jerked my head towards Damon who added, "I would be extra nice to me right now."

"Look, we need your help. We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls." I told her, hoping that she would help us in our search for answers.

* * *

"This box tracks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April of 1864." Vanessa put the box down in front of me. "Is this all you had about her?" I questioned her. She nodded and said, "All that I'm aware of." I looked at Damon who was standing in the corner, reading something.

I grabbed a piece of vervain and gave it to her, "Here, take this." "Does vervain really work?" She asked me, and I nodded. "Nope, not at all." Damon said from his spot, while Elena glared at him. "Can he hear us?" Vanessa questioned me. I raised my eyebrows and nodded. "No, that would be creepy," Damon loudly whispered.

"Can he read minds too?" Vanessa kept questioning me, and Damon answered, "You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." Elena stated from her spot near the bookshelf, "No, that he can't do." I interjected and added, "But he is very capable of being a first rate jackass."

Everyone except for Damon chuckled a little at that, while Vanessa stuffed the vervain I gave her into her shirt pocket. I slammed down another book as Elena started getting frustrated, again. Damon then came up behind me and I told him, "There's nothing in here about Katherine that we didn't already know."

"Well, it's a bummer that we're not friends anymore because then I could tell you what I know." He offered, and I turned to him. "I wasn't even part of that. And now who is manipulating who?" Damon smirked and started to check me out when Alaric called us over.

Vanessa started telling us about this ancient curse, "There is no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some lesser known legends. Everything from Scandinavian Skin walkers to the Marchelda Reds. The Curse of the Sun and the Moon."

"It's Native American." Alaric guessed , but Vanessa corrected, "Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story, six hundred years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the country side, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them. The vampires were then slaves of the sun, and the werewolves were servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night, and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the skies, whoever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asked. I rolled my eyes and answered, "If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse." Damon smirked and made a clawing motion at me, but I put my back to him.

"Werewolves will attack humans, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice. Vampires." She explained, and my eyes went wide as I looked at Damon. "Well, if werewolves were hunting vampire, I would know it."

Vanessa shook her head, "Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost near extinction." "But why would they do that?" Elena asked. I answered, "To protect themselves."

Vanessa sent an appreciative nod in my direction, "Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires."

* * *

After a few more hours of searching, I decided to call Stefan to fill him in on what we found out. "Hey," He answered. "Hi. Listen, we learned some stuff here, and I know it's going to sound crazy, but I wanted to fill you in." I told my best friend, hoping that he wouldn't get hurt while we were gone. "What's up?" He asked.

I told him what we found out and he sighed on the other line. "I don't know what it means, or if we should even believe it, but it's a full moon tonight, Stef, and after what you saw Mason do." "I'll be careful." He promised me. "There's one more thing." I rushed into the phone. "What is it?" Stefan asked.

"According to legend, a werewolf bite can kill a vampire." I said. There was a long pause before Stefan said, "Listen, I gotta go. I'll see you when you get home, okay?" "Okay," I said before I hung up and went back inside.

I found Elena looking inside the Katherine box, and she pulled out a picture. "Hey, have you done any research on dopplegangers?" Elena asked Vanessa. This piqued both mine and Alaric's interest as we watched them. "Well, the word means many different things to different cultures, but typically, a doppleganger is a living breathing double of oneself."

"Did Isobel have any research explaining the link between us and Katherine?" I asked Vanessa, joining the conversation. Vanessa pointed to the box and answered, "That's all she had on Katherine, sorry." I heard Damon closing a book in the background, and I turned to look at him. He avoided it, as per usual.

"But, I can tell you that doppelgangers usually torment the people they look like, try to undo their lives. It's not very uplifting." Vanessa tried to give us more information. "And more things we already know. Just, I wanna know why we all look alike." Elena's frustration was only building, and I knew that if Damon kept trying to talk to her, she would tear him apart.

"Head scratcher, isn't it?" Damon goaded my twin. "Do you know something, or are you gonna just be yourself?" Elena asked him. "Well, if I know anything, I'm not gonna tell you with that attitude." Damon told her. I groaned, while Elena faced him. "That's good, and this is coming from someone who wants to be Erin's friend? You know what? Friends don't manipulate friends, they help each other. Even if she did forgive you, you would just betray her yet again. You know it, and I know it." Elena then walked out of the room, and Damon stared at me.

* * *

Elena and I got to the car, and found it locked. Damon then came up behind us and unlocked it. "Here, allow me." He opened the door for us, and Elena climbed in. Damon stopped me as I was about to get in the car.

"You're not gonna be able to hate me forever." He said to me. "Can we go, please?" I asked him, not making eye contact. He then sighed and gave me a book. "You didn't dig deep enough." He told me. I looked at the book and recognized it. "Petrova? I saw this on the shelf." I said with a little bit of attitude.

"Katherine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name, Katerina Petrova to be exact." Damon muttered, and I sort of melted when he said her name. I mentally slapped myself for thinking that, he tried to kill my brother.

"How did you know that?" I questioned. "Well, way back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Men snoop too you know. Let me know what you find, I'm very curious myself." I looked at the book and went to go in the car when he stopped me yet again. "You have every right to hate me, I understand. But you hated me before, and we became friends. It would suck if that was gone forever. So is it, have I lost you forever?"

"Thank you for the book, Damon." I dodged the question. He then looked hurt, but stepped out of the way and let me into the car. Elena glanced at me and took my hand, squeezing it. Whatever happened, we were in this together.

* * *

"I can't believe I hurt him. He was the one person on this entire planet that I never wanted to hurt." Caroline cried. "It's not gonna get any easier. You just have to work that much harder." Stefan told her.

"I shouldn't be with him, should I? Not if there's any danger." Caroline whispered, almost to herself. "I'm the last person to make that kind of decision for you. I mean, if I followed my own advice, I would have walked away from Elena a long time ago."

"Do you ever think you should have?" Caroline asked her mentor. "I know I should have, I just can't." He replied to her, and Caroline nodded, understanding. "Because of Erin." This made Stefan's head snap up, surprised that Caroline knew. "Everyone knows, Stefan. Me, Bonnie, Damon and even Elena, the only person that doesn't is her. You only dated Elena to get close to her because you love her. We all see the way you look at her, you look at her the same way that Damon does. Both of you love her, and you can pretend to love Elena all you want, but it will always be Erin." Caroline blabbed.

* * *

Elena walked into the house, and Damon followed me to the front door. "Road trips work well for us." He said. "This doesn't mean that things are back to the way they used to be, Damon." I told him as he scoffed. "Oh, cmon, you know I chipped off a little of your pretend wall of hatred."

I turned to him and said, "I need to know the truth, did you or did you not see the ring?" I saw him struggle with himself a little bit before he answered, "No, no I didn't. Katherine really pissed me off, and I snapped and I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't wearing it." I could see that he was truthful, and I was a little relieved, but I was angry. "Erin, I am so sorry." He said.

I nodded and thanked him for being honest. "And the question about our friendship… The truth is I'm not sure if you have lost me forever. Jeremy is still alive and breathing, but I can't get over the fact that for a few seconds, I thought that my brother was dead thanks to you. Just give me some time to sort everything out."

"You already knew that didn't you? You and Elena used me today." Damon seethed. I shook my head and said no because I really didn't. I just realized in that moment that I have some sort of feelings for Damon. There is a thin line between love and hate, and I don't know where I stand on that line.

"Elena used you, I didn't want any part in it. Friends don't manipulate friends." I told him, and walked inside the house.


	4. Memory Lane

The Lockwood Mansion, 1864

"Look who found his dancing shoes, "Katherine teased him. Stefan leaned in to kiss her as Katherine stopped, "No touching, Mr. Salvatore those are the rules."

Stefan smirked and said, "I thought you don't believe in rules." Katherine laughed and Stefan saw his brother, Damon watching on in agony.

"My brother is still upset that you chose me to escort you." Stefan informed her. Katherine replied by saying, "Well Damon needs to concede that his brother is a better dancer."

Katherine looked over Stefan's shoulder and told him, "It looks like he found someone to occupy his time." Stefan then saw a girl with brown curly hair holding hands with his brother. "Erin," Stefan whispered.

He tried to go to her, but Katherine stopped him, "Stefan don't." He saw Damon escorting Erin somewhere, and Stefan tried to follow. A door closed behind them, and Stefan called, "Erin." He opened the door, and the scene changed.

He was at The Mystic Grill in modern day. Stefan looked around, and then he spotted Erin at the pool table like she usually was when they would hang out here. She held a pool cue and motioned at him, "It's your turn." She said.

Stefan smiled and took a step towards her as Damon came out and teased, "Be prepared to lose." Damon then placed a kiss on her lips, something Stefan had wanted to do for so long.

Erin smiled at Damon as Katherine came up from behind Stefan. "It hurts," She started. They both looked over to see Damon helping Erin with the pool cue, holding her close. "Now you know how I feel."

Katherine reached for Stefan's face and urged, "Don't fight it, Stefan. You loved me once, you will again." Stefan saw Damon kiss Erin's cheek, and he once again attempted to walk towards her. The scene changed back to the Founder's Party. "I love you, Stefan. We will be together again, I promise." She said and hugged Stefan close.

Stefan gasped as he woke up. He felt someone in his arms, probably Elena he guessed. He stroked her hair, "Hey you okay?" Elena asked. "Yeah, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep." He answered. As he stroked her hair, he realized that it was curly. This was not Elena or Erin.

He shot up from his spot and hissed, "Katherine." She gracefully sat on the bed and purred, "you have to admit, I am getting better at this." They both stood their ground as they looked at each other.

"It was easy to get inside your head, have you completely forsaken your nature?" She mocked, and flashed towards her, only to be pushed back, "Are we really going to do this again? We both know that I could rip you to shreds and do my nails at the same time."

Stefan got up from the ground and groaned, "What do you want?" "I wanted to see you, I missed you Stefan." She said, only half truthful. "Indulge me for a little while, please?" Katherine added.

"Why are you back in town?" Stefan asked his ex. "Three reasons: you, you, and you." Katherine told him, putting up three fingers in the process.

"You see, I can't really get that down. It just gets stuck in my throat." Stefan said. "Well you know, it's the truth. Deep down inside that gorgeous body of yours is the Stefan that fell in love with me too." Katherine dragged a finger down his chest and stared at him, pouting.

* * *

Elena and Erin sat at the Grill, studying for History. All of a sudden, a gust of wind came past them, and Damon appeared at Erin's side. Elena gasped, but Erin did not find it surprising. Damon talked to Elena and looked around, "So this is where you spend your time when you are not stabbing people in the back."

Elena rolled her eyes and sneered, "I tricked you into telling the truth, that's not stabbing you in the back. That is using your own tactics against you." Erin clicked her pen and stood up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked her. "I thought I made it clear Damon, give me some space." Erin retorted, angry that Damon was not staying away from her. Elena put her book in her bag and got up from her chair as Damon said, "Okay, see you two at Jenna's barbeque."

"How do you know about Jenna's barbeque?" Erin asked him. "It was my idea. Jenna knows Mason Lockwood, so I figured a social gathering might help me get to know the guy." Damon said snarkily as Erin waved her hands in the air. He then added, "So I told Ric, to tell Jenna." Erin then started motioning towards the door to Elena, but she just questioned, "Does Jenna know, because she is not exactly your biggest fan."

A waiter came over and dropped a pie in front of Damon "Perfect, thank you!" He told her as she gave him a wink in return, making Erin roll her eyes. "Well, I'm hoping that this peach cobbler might help pave the way."

Damon then got up and started to make his way past us as Elena asked, "What are you up to?" Damon made sure his arm was touching mine as he told her, "I'm going to get some silver into Mason Lockwood and prove that he is a werewolf." "What! Stay away from Mason, Damon!" Erin ordered, but Damon ignored her and walked out of The Grill.

* * *

Katherine sat in the living room of the Boarding House reading as Stefan came up behind her. "You shouldn't read someone's journal." Stefan scolded her.

"I know, I'm sorry. It was just too tempting, just seeing all of your inner thoughts and feeling sitting on your desk for me to read." Katherine replied, and Stefan just handed her a cup of blood and took his journal from her hands. "Damon's private stock." He informed her.

"Oh, that's right! You don't do human, I read that." She stated mockingly and sipped the red liquid. "I also read about your recent werewolf sighting. That must have come as a surprise." Katherine added.

"What do you know about werewolves?" Stefan asked her. "I know not to pet one. Their bite kills, Stefan. It's best to steer clear of them during a full moon." She joked. "And how do you know this?" He questioned her.

"Who do you think was responsible for getting rid of the vampires in 1864?" She answered by asking him a question. "The founding families." Stefan responded, and Katherine played with the magnifying glass on the table. "Spearheaded by?" Katherine asked him again. Stefan raised his eyebrows and said, "The Lockwoods."

Katherine smirked and continued, "You remember the Founder's Ball, don't you? The one you were dreaming about?" Stefan nodded and replied, "I was your escort." "That was before you and Damon knew about my little secret." She mentioned.

"From the moment I met George, I knew he would be a problem." Katherine explained, telling the story. "So your saying that all the Lockwoods are werewolves?" Stefan inquired, but Katherine disagreed. "The werewolf gene runs in the Lockwood family, not that they are all wolves."

"How many werewolves are out there? I mean, is it just limited to the Lockwoods?" Stefan was very curious, and he knew that Katherine held all of the answers he needed. "No, there are others. Not many, practically extinct. Mainly they exist in tv shows and some really bad movies." Katherine said, sipping the blood in the glass.

"My turn to ask a question," She whispred, and then she grabbed something and laughed. Stefan was reminded of Erin in that moment, but shook his head. Erin was nothing like Katherine. "Why did you keep this picture? Why not tear it up, burn it?" She showed him the picture that Elena found in his room the night Erin got into a car accident.

"You wanna know why I came back? Well I have a better question, why did you? For Elena? No. For Erin? Maybe. But you came back here to fall in love with me all over again, didn't you?" Katherine stared at Stefan as she said that. Stefan looked at the ground, but then he suddenly rushed towards the woman the ruined his life.

"What is it about you that makes me still care?" He whispered, his face inches away from hers. They looked into each other's eyes before they pressed their lips to the other's. Out of nowhere, Stefan plunged a needle full of vervain into Katherine's back, and she fell onto the couch.

Stefan carried his ex down the stairs and into the basement, chaining her to a chair. "Now, where were we? That's right, you were about to tell me why you came back to Mystic Falls, weren't you?" He asked her. Katherine looked at him weakly and said, "You didn't have to do this."

"Answer the question." Stefan snapped. Katherine weakly attempted to fight against the chains, "I came back for you." She informed him yet again. "We are gonna play by my rules now." Stefan stated before putting gloves on and getting some vervain.

Katherine cowered back in fear as Stefan took steps towards her. Smoke came into the air as soon as the vervain touched her skin. Katherine screamed in pain and Stefan growled, "Answer the question." "You're going to torture me now?" Katherine asked him.

Still in her face, Stefan replied, "I'll do whatever it takes for you to tell me the truth." Backing away, Stefan slouched against the stone. "Later that night, at the Founders Ball." Katherine started, but Stefan interjected. "I don't want to hear stories about the past!" "Yes you do, Stefan. That's exactly what you want to here." Katherine told him.

"What did he want?" Stefan demanded. Katherine said nothing, so Stefan pulled out a chair and sat down.

* * *

"Thanks for letting us invite Caroline, she could use a day of distraction." Erin thanked her aunt while Elena poured the chips into a bowl. "Well, that's not the plus one I'm worried about. Tell me, why is Damon coming?" She complained while looking straight at Erin. Erin looked at her aunt, offended.

"Because Alaric is a pity taker. Cmon Aunt Jenna, be nice." Elena told her. "I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off of Erin." Jenna retorted, pointing at Erin. Then, Mason walked into the room with a big grin on his face. "Ha! I found the shot glasses!" HE exclaimed.

"And that would be my exit." Elena said, and when Mason could not see her, she winked at Erin and mouthed, 'Go for it.' Erin blushed at her twin sister's antics and stayed with Jenna and Mason. "you're here ten minutes, and I am back under the bleachers at the pep rally." Jenna smiled as Mason hugged her.

"Just like old times." He said, and smiled at Erin. "Only, I didn't swipe this bottle from my old man." He added, pouring shots. Alaric then entered the room, "The expensive stuff, I like you already." Mason looked at him and said, "Just glad to be invited."

Jenna then added, "Well, thank Ric. This was his idea." Mason looked cautiously at Alaric, "Really?" He asked. "Yeah, well you know, I thought it would be nice to meet Jenna's old high school friends. Erin here has told me plenty of embarrassing stories, but I wanna dig up a little dirt." Alaric then squeezed her shoulders as Mason smirked.

"Oh, I've got dirt, alright." He laughed. "Yes, but my dirt is better." Erin teased him. Jenna took her shot glass and raised it. "I have no secrets, only dirty shame." They all cheered as Erin muttered aloud, "And these are the times I wish I could drink." They all smirked and Jenna told her she could have one shot only.

Damon then walked in, lowering both Jenna's and Erin's moods. "Damon." Erin stated with clear annoyance in her voice. "We're just doing shots, let me grab you a glass buddy." Alaric greeted him. It got awkward once Jenna told him, "Here, use mine." She then proceeded to scurry out of the room with Alaric on her heels.

Damon then came up to us and said to Mason, "She doesn't like me very much." Damon winked at me, and I rolled my eyes. Mason seemed to notice and he took the pressure off me, "We haven't met, Mason Lockwood." The men shook hands and Damon said in a fake friendly voice, "Oh, hey. Damon Salvatore."

"I know, "Mason replied and added, "I've heard great things about you." Erin scoffed at that, and they both looked over at her. "Who have you been talking to? Because he's a dick." Erin then walked away, two sets of eyes were on her as she left. Erin then made her way to the porch where Elena and Caroline were and told them that the food was ready.

Erin and Caroline walked arm in arm to the table and laughed at some old stories.

* * *

"You know, we can sit here as long as you want. And when you start to desiccate, there's a tomb with your name written on it." Stefan told her. Katherine looked up at him. "I've been doing all the talking, it's your turn." She said.

"Do you pretend to be human when you're with them? Is that the appeal?" Katherine squinted her eyes at the man she loved, trying to figure him out. "I don't pretend to be anything when I'm with them, that's the point. I just get to be myself." Stefan replied honestly.

"Does Elena know that you love me? Or better yet, love her twin sister?" Katherine asked. "I don't." He stated, getting up from the chair. "That's where you're wrong, Stefan. Don't you remember bringing me home that night? Your family had taken me in…" She trailed off, telling the story. "Go ahead, Stefan. Torture me, keep me captive, drain my body until it turns to dust. It will never change the truth, I never compelled your love. It was real, and so was mine."

"Dress, ballerina!" Jenna yelled. Mason and Erin laughed at her drunkness. "You should have seen her in high school, she was way worse." Mason told her, we both chuckled. Damon glared at him, but Caroline distracted everyone with her yelling, "Puppy! Puppy in a tutu!"

"Dog! Dog! You ain't nothing but a hound dog!" Jenna laughed. Mason whispered the answer in Erin's ear and she shouted, "Dances with Wolves!" They all looked at her in astonishment as Damon answered, "And Mason and Erin win AGAIN." Jenna started her complaining phase then, "How is that a wolf?!"

Elena was in the kitchen, taking the cobbler Damon brought and put it on a plate. Damon then stalked out of the living room, seeing Erin and Mason getting cozy. "Aunt Jenna's getting tipsy." Damon informed his brother's girlfriend. "Would you stop plying her with alcohol?" Elena sighed.

"But I want her to like me." Damon argued. "How's Operation Lockwood?" Elena asked him, and Damon whispered in her ear. "He's my new bff." Elena rolled her eyes and turned to face him, "Or he is Erin's new BFF and you are jealous." Elena saw the look on Damon's face and smiled her victory smile.

"Look who's talking Miss 'Jealous of my boyfriend and sister'." Damon sneered in her face. _Two could play at this game, _he thought. Before either of them could say anything more, Jenna came in with a smile on her face.

"Isn't this fun?" She laughed, mostly talking to Elena. "Yes, thank you so much for inviting me." Damon spoke, mostly in a fake enthusiastic way. "Did I have a choice?" Jenna asked, slurring her words a little. "I know what you must think of me," Damon started. "No, you don't. You have not dated you. I have dated many you's, and I'll be damned if my niece gets hurt the same way I did." Jenna argued.

"I'm a work in progress." Damon offered, hurt that the two women in his presence both think he would hurt Erin. Something then caught his eye, "Oh, those are fancy." Jenna started folding napkins and said, "Thanks. My mother's silver set." Elena and Damon then locked gazes and he smirked.

* * *

"Hearing the truth after a century and a half of denial must be overwhelming." Katherine sighed. "It wasn't real, I remember you compelling me." Stefan argued. "Only after I showed you who I really was. You were so afraid of me that I had to take away your fear." Katherine retorted. "Well, whatever feelings I had back then have all turned to hate." Stefan told her.

"Love, hate, such a fine line. I can wait. Anyways, George Lockwood was causing all sorts of trouble. He used the vampires as a cover up, told the founding families about us. But he was willing to strike a deal." Katherine explained. "What kind of deal?" Stefan asked curiously. "A deal to rid the town of vampires." Katherine said.

"You knew that they were going to burn the vampires in the church." Stefan stated, and Katherine nodded. "I practically lit the match." She said emotionlessly. "They were your friends, they were your family, and you just sold them out." Stefan went on. "Without blinking." Katherine agreed to his assumptions.

* * *

"Mason, why don't you start us off?" Damon told him, placing the cobbler in front of him. Mason looked at Damon, and knew what he was planning. Mason then reached and grabbed a slice of cobbler with his hands. "I apologize, I'm an animal." He said.

They all chuckled awkwardly, and then Erin walked into the room. They were all relieved to have the teen there with them. She then sat down in the empty chair between Mason and Damon. "So, Mason, you and Jenna never dated?" Alaric questioned him. Mason shook his head and replied, "no, she was always lost in Logan Fell land."

Erin raised her eyebrow and asked "Really? Logan Fell?" Jenna sighed and said, "No judging! Logan was my first mistake. Mason was a catch, he had girls lining up. And if I remember correctly, little Erin here had a big crush." Erin's eyes went wide and her cheeks turned bright red.

"Jenna!" She yelled, embarrassed. "Really?" Damon asked, looking between Mason and Erin. Mason smirked at Erin, he had no idea that she liked him. "I always pegged you for a lone wolf." Damon mocked, and Erin glared at him. Under the table, Erin kicked Damon in the shin, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think I'll have that shot now." Erin mumbled before getting up and pouring herself one. "I'm sure I wasn't half the lady killer you were." Mason retorted, causing Erin to snicker in the background. Mason then raised his beer and cheered, "To new friends." They all clinked their glasses together, and they drank, including Erin who downed her shot.

Elena then walked into the kitchen and spoke, "Sorry to interrupt, but Erin, uh I need your help." Erin nodded and said, "Yeah sure. Well, bye guys I will see you later." Mason then proceeded to stand up and hug Erin. They said goodbye and Erin saluted at Alaric and Jenna, and gave Damon a feisty glare before leaving.

"So what's the problem?" Erin asked her twin. "Caroline is going to drive us to the Boarding House. Stefan hasn't gotten back to me all day, and I have this bad feeling." Elena informed her, and they both made their way to Caroline's car. Caroline pretended to drop her keys, but she actually bent down and popped a hole in the tire.

* * *

"What did George get in return for giving you your freedom?" Stefan asked, back in his seat. "Something he wanted desperately." Katherine answered vaguely. "So you sent 26 of your friends to their death just to fake their own? No, you were running from something, what is it?" Stefan pieced things together.

"Everyone has a past, Stefan. Mine needed to stay far away, but thanks to you my plan nearly failed before it even began. When George said that the roundup was eminent, I made sure to see you one last time. But your father used your love for me against you, he poisoned your blood. And Damon, being Damon, nearly ruined everything." Katherine told.

"We came for you, we tried to save you." Stefan said bitterly. "Well, I didn't want to be saved." Katherine argued. "That means that Damon and I died for nothing, for nothing!" Stefan was more than angry at the woman in front of him. "No, Stefan you died for love!" Katherine yelled.

* * *

"Jenna just brought out Guitar Hero. You might be tired of mutiny." Mason informed Damon. "Well, I just happen to like Guitar Hero, so you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree." Damon mocked as he poured himself some more alcohol. "Okay, enough with the innuendos, you're hilarious. You don't think I know what this barbeque is about?" Mason told the vampire.

"How do you know about me? Your brother was completely clueless." Damon asked him, suspicious of the guy. "It doesn't matter, I'm not your enemy, Damon." Mason argued. Damon glared at him, "You tried to kill my brother, and you are currently putting the moves on my friend." "That was a mistake, I didn't chain myself up in time. I have no control over myself once I shift." Mason tried to assure him.

"What, no obedience school?" Damon mocked him once again. Mason wasn't laughing. "I'm serious. Let's not spark some age old feud that doesn't apply to us." Mason said, and Damon raised an eyebrow. "Do you expect me to believe that you're in Mystic Falls planting peace trees?" Damon sneered.

"I lost my brother, my nephew lost his father, I'm here for my family. Let's be above this." Mason put out his hand for Damon to shake, and he did. Once Mason walked away, however, Damon took a knife from the drawer of Jenna's silver set.

* * *

On the road, Elena said, "Thanks for this, Care. I appreciate it." Caroline looked at Elena and back to the road she sang, "Here we come, to the rescue." Erin gave her a weird look and asked, "Why are being so snippy?" Caroline sighed, "It's my own drama. I'm sure that you two will beat the odds. Not that there is any study to pull odds from. What is the ratio of success for vampire- human couplings? I'm guessing no."

Elena and Erin were both shocked nad annoyed that Caroline would say something like that. "Okay, Caroline." Elena snapped. Caroline then apologized as a song came on. Trying to lighten the mood a little, Erin spoke, "I love this song." Caroline pressed a button and yelled into the car, "What's playing?" A voice answered and Erin chuckled a little bit when Caroline whispered, "Ta da!"

Suddenly, something went wrong with the car, and they were forced to pull over. They waited a few hours for a tow truck to come, but it never did. "I'm gonna call Jenna." Erin informed them, tired of waiting. "No! Let me call the tow again, and I can use my mad girl voice."

"We can just walk from here," Elena claimed and grabbed Erin's hand, but Caroline stopped them. "I can't just leave my car." "We can come back for it." Erin reasoned, hoping that Caroline wouldn't fight with them over it. "Just give me a minute, guys." She snapped.

Elena then got frustrated, "Caroline, what part about 'I'm worried about Stefan' didn't sink in?" "What's the rush? Why are you rushing to a relationship that will never work?" Caroline blabbed, and Elena looked extremely offended. "Care, I know that you're upset about Matt, but can you stop projecting it onto me and Stefan, please."

"I'm not projecting anything, Elena. You're human, he's a vampire. You will be 70 and in diapers and he will still be smoking hot! And you will never have his children, Elena! You are too maternal to not have children!" Caroline rushed out. Elena looked extremely shocked and caught off guard by this information.

"Where is this coming from?" Erin asked her friend, concerned and worried. "I'm just trying to be her friend." Caroline told them. "Well, do me a favor and stop trying." Elena snapped. The tow truck then appeared in their vision as Elena said, "There's the tow, we're going to walk."

Caroline then grabbed Elena's arm and squeezed, "Ow, Caroline, you're hurting me." Erin saw the vulnerability and fear in Caroline's eyes and questioned, "What is wrong with you, Care?" Just as Caroline opened her mouth, the tow guy asked her a question. Elena said something snarky, grabbed Erin's arm, and stormed away.

* * *

Mason parked his car at The Grill, and right as he shut the door, he saw Damon. "Damon? What, more dog jokes?" Mason said as Damon smirked. "No, those got old." Damon then stabbed Mason with the silver knife and made his way towards Mason's car.

The werewolf pulled the knife out of his chest and uttered, "I think it was werewolves who started the whole silver myth." Damon looked shocked, and he knew that this was a mistake. "Duly noted." Damon said. Mason looked at his bloodied shirt and complained, "And I was really looking forward to Last Call." Mason strode up to Damon with a smile on his face.

"Now you've made an enemy. And about Erin, may the best man win." Mason said before going back to his car.

* * *

"You gonna tell me why you came back here, or are you just playing another game?" Stefan questioned her. "Have you not heard a word that I've said? I answered that question five times over already." Katherine groaned, getting real tired of that question. "Fine, then make it six." Stefan demanded.

Katherine rolled her eyes and stated, "I want what I want, Stefan. And I don't care what I have to do to get it. My list of victims is a long one, and I have no problem adding one more name to that list."

"C'mon Katherine. If you wanted Elena dead, you would have done it by now." Stefan pointed out. "Still can. And who said anything about Elena? If I have to, I will snap Erin's neck like a twig and you know it." Katherine threatened. Stefan then flashed up to Katherine at the mention of Erin's name and pointed a stake at her heart.

Stefan hesitated and looked at Katherine for a moment, he couldn't kill her, she looks too much like Erin and Elena. "Guess you don't hate me as much as you thought you did. I don't want you seeing Elena anymore. If you don't remove her from your life, I will kill everyone that Erin loves while she watches, and then I will kill her while you watch."

Stefan then flashed up to her again, revealing his vampire side and choked her, "Don't you ever think for one moment that I will not kill you." Katherine then broke out of the chains and pushed Stefan against the wall. "I have been sipping vervain every single day for the last 145 years. You caught me by surprise once, I wasn't going to let it happen again. It doesn't hurt me, Stefan."

He was confused and shocked, it wasn't possible. "What? Why?" He asked breathlessly. Katherine then got down to his height and said softly, "I told you. I've missed you, Stefan. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

A voice cut them off. "Hello? Stefan?" They both recognized it as Elena's, but then they heard another. "God, you don't have to yell, Lena. He has vampire hearing." Erin. A mischievous look came across Katherine's face and she plunged the stake into Stefan's leg. He cried out in pain, and hoped that he would make it upstairs in time.

The twins walked into the living room of the Boarding House when they felt another presence in the room. Erin looked over her shoulder to see a woman who looked exactly like her. _Katherine, _she thought. "You must be Erin and Elena." Katherine looked them both older, and now understood why everyone loved Erin Gilbert, she looked exactly like Katherine, from the hair to the clothes.

"How is this possible? How do we look exactly alike?" Elena asked breathlessly. Erin stood the way Katherine was, she was looking at her doppleganger thoroughly and curiously. Katherine then walked up to Elena and touched a piece of her hair, "You're asking the wrong questions." Katherine said, feeling powerful because Elena was so intimidated and scared by her.

Erin just stared at Katherine as she made her way towards her after she said something to Elena. "I think you are more of my twin than Elena is." Erin muttered, causing Katherine to smile in amusement. But, she heard Stefan rushing towards the living room, so she disappeared.

"Elena! Erin!" Stefan called and he ran in. Elena looked like a deer in the headlights, while Erin's face remained stoic. "Are you two okay?" Stefan asked. Elena shook her head and answered, "Not really." "Speak for yourself, Lena. I'm fine, and she was really pretty." Erin said. Stefan looked at her, his eyes telling her that he was not amused.

"Are you okay?" Erin questioned Stefan, looking at the state he was in. "Not really." He told them. Elena then ran into his arms and hugged him. Stefan looked up at Erin from Elena's embrace, he had no idea how she was so calm.

* * *

Once they dropped Erin off at home, Stefan and Elena went to The Grill. They walked in and saw Caroline who apologized to Elena. She then sat down at the table next to Stefan, her emotions bubbled into one, anger.

"I'm starving." Stefan complained. "Well, spending the day with your jealous ex will do that to you." Elena snapped. "Listen, I know you're upset, but we have to take her seriously. Today was all about the lengths that she would go to." Stefan replied calmly.

"If she was going to hurt me, she would have. Erin and I were standing right in front of her." Elena told him. Stefan sighed, "Elena, you caught her off guard. It doesn't mean you're safe." Elena stared at him, open mouthed. "I am not afraid of her." She snapped. "Well, you should be." Stefan argued.

"If Katherine had her way, we'd we breaking up right now." Elena pointed out. "If today taught me anything, it's that Katherine is used to getting her way." Stefan said. Elena glared at her boyfriend, "You're not saying that we actually do what she says…"

Stefan put his face in his hands, "Listen, she is sadistic, okay? She threatened Erin, she threatened everyone." Elena raised her eyebrows and retorted, "Yeah, I get it. She's dangerous, but every day that we are together, it's dangerous. Why are you giving her so much power over our relationship? Do you still love her?"

Stefan rolled his eyes at Elena's insecurities. "No, it's the reality of our situation." Elena made a face and snapped, "Well, reality sucks." She then lowered her voce when she realized she yelled that part. "This is what she wants, she wants us to fight. She wants to get between us, okay? I love you, Stefan."

"She's not the only one who has Elena. Look, I do love you, but if we stay together, your sister will die, my best friend will die. It's too much of a risk, I'm sorry." Stefan explained to Elena. Elena looked hurt, but she nodded and exited The Grill.

* * *

Elena stormed into the Gilbert house with tears in her eyes. Stefan and her had never really fought before, not like that. Jeremy and Erin were watching a movie in Erin's room. "I can't believe you are actually making me watch this!" Jeremy complained. Elena laughed as she eavesdropped. "C'mon Jer! It's a classic!" Erin urged him, eating from a tub of Ben & Jerry's. "High School Musical is not a classic! It's torture!" Then Elena came in. "Hey, what happened?" Jeremy asked his sister. Elena just shook her head and climbed into bed with the two of them, just like they used to do when they were little. The last time they did this, their parents died.

"Me and Stefan got into a huge fight, and now I don't know where we stand. I think he broke up with me." Elena sobbed. Erin and Jeremy pulled her into a hug, and Erin held Elena while she cried. They all said nothing, they just watched High School Musical for the night and fell asleep in Erin's bed.


	5. Kill Or Be Killed

"I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf." Jeremy breathed. Him, Elena, and Erin were talking in the bathroom. "We're not sure about that yet." Erin told her little brother, skeptical that Tyler would be a werewolf.

_He would have told me, right?_ She thought. "The only thing we know for sure is that Mason Lockwood is." Elena finished her twin's sentence, something they did often.

"That should be easy enough to figure out." Jeremy said as his sisters got ready for the day. Erin was curling her hair, and Elena was applying lip gloss.

"There is no us. I told you that I wouldn't keep anything from you, but that doesn't mean that I want you involved in it." Elena spoke. Jeremy walked to Elena's side and scoffed, "By definition of being in this family, I'm involved."

Jeremy then showed them the ring, and Erin sighed, "The kid has a point." Elena turned to Erin, her mouth open. "Whose side are you on?" She asked.

"I'm not getting in the middle of this. I am just saying that you both are giving valid points. But for now, I have to agree with Elena. It's too dangerous, Jer. Please try and stay out of it." Erin told them, and walked into her room.

Erin grabbed a shirt from her closet and closed the door. She gasped when Stefan appeared with a smile on his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He said with a playful smirk.

"We both know that you love to scare me." Erin retorted, and went to shut her bedroom door. She sighed as she looked at her best friend, he looked perfectly happy. Elena was a mess, though, so she just pulled him into a hug.

"Hi." She whispered. Stefan replied with, "Hey. Are you ready for today?" Erin pulled back and shook her head no. "How are you?" She asked him.

Stefan breathed and told her honestly, "I feel good, to be honest. I thought I would dread today a lot more, but being with you is helping me at the moment." Erin smiled, happy for her best friend.

"Stefan, I think Caroline is working with Katherine. You should have seen her yesterday; I've known Caroline for years, it was clear that something was going on with her." Erin said. Stefan nodded his head, understanding her concern.

"You're right, it's pure Katherine. She is always getting other people to do her dirty work. Listen to me, I have a plan. Just please, for today try to stay away from Mason and Damon." Stefan spoke, coming up with a plan.

"Yeah, of course. Anything else, captain?" Erin asked jokingly, not even bothering to question him. "Actually, maybe some food, a coke would be nice too." Stefan responded. They both laughed and hugged.

At the volunteer day at the park, Stefan saw Mason Lockwood unloading his truck , and walked up to him. "Stefan, right? The other Salvatore." Mason guessed. _The other guy who loves Erin, more competition to beat, _Mason thought.

"The nice one, the one offering an apology." Stefan offered him, nut Mason shook his head. "Not interested." He stated.

"Look, my brother acted impulsively." Stefan drawled, and Mason retorted, "You think?" Stefan nodded, knowing that this guy was stubborn. Stefan also knew that this was the wolf who liked his best friend.

"If you and Damon keep going at each other's throats, someone is going to get hurt, and I don't want that. You have family here, so I imagine you can't want that either. So, why don't you just quit the whole 'alpha-male fighting' thing and call it a truce." Stefan told him.

Mason wagged his finger at Stefan and informed, "I made that same offer to your brother, and he turned it down, with a knife."

"He made a mistake, and I'm here to make sure that neither of you make another one." Stefan said. Mason looked like he was contemplating the offer, but he started to walk away and stated, "Tell your brother to watch his back, and can you send a message to Erin? Tell her to call me."

Stefan then responded by halting him and clenching Mason arm in a vice grip. "Well I'm guessing he only has to worry about that on a full moon. Otherwise you are not as strong, am I right, or you would have killed Damon by now. There's one of you, there's two of us. I think you're the one that needs to watch his back, especially if you plan on going after Erin."

Mason looked down; Stefan was glaring at him with an intense look. "If he comes at me-" Mason started. "He won't." Stefan promised, bargaining on behalf of his brother. They then proceeded to shake hands, and then Mason walked away.

Damon showed up right behind Stefan and questioned, "What are you doing?" Stefan replied, "Negotiating peace in your behalf." Damon then acted like a child and complained, "But I don't want peace."

Stefan then sassed his brother as he said, "Well, consider it opposite day." Damon got up in his brother's face as he said, "Stefan, please tell me you don't seriously think a little handshake will solve our problem."

"No, actually, I think the first chance Mason Lockwood gets, he'll drive a stake through your heart and then through mine. All because you took it upon yourself to try to kill him. So, thank you because we don't have enough problems." Stefan trudged away from his brother.

"Oh, thanks Mason." Sherriff Forbes thanked him as he brought a tray to the table. "Hey, Sherriff, you got a second?" He asked her.

"I'm out of uniform, let's go with Liz." She told him. "Alright, Liz. I was hoping to talk to you about The Council." He told her, not one to be subtle. "I don't know what you're talking about." She denied, trying to get away from him.

"I know that you and the other founding families have a secret council." He informed her. "Well, if that were true, then you would know it's a secret that is not discussed with non-council members." She said.

"I know that I rejected all that, but it was only because I wanted a life outside of this town. Not because I was a non-believer. Look, I know that vampires exist, and you have two of them right under your nose." Mason pleaded with her.

Liz raised an eyebrow at Mason, clearly in disbelief. "Oh, and who would they be?" She asked. "Damon and Stefan Salvatore." He told her. Liz got tense, and retorted, "That's impossible, I know Damon Salvatore. Do you know what he has done for this town?"

"I know it's a lot to digest-" Mason started. "No, I watched him kill vampires. He's an ally, he's part of The Council." She argued. "Think about it, when did the vampire attacks begin? Right when Damon and Stefan rolled into town." He reasoned.

"They walk in the sun, Mason." Liz fought. "They've evolved. It's not 1864 anymore, they've figured it out, Liz." Mason said.

"No, Damon Salvatore is my friend." Liz stated. "What if I can prove it to you?" Mason offered.

Erin, Elena, and Caroline all walk together as Caroline tells them about her mom, "Well, now she's running for mother of the year, just when I'm trying to avoid her the most. I'm babbling, you guys don't want to hear all of this."

Erin denied it and argued, "No, sorry. Then what happened?" Caroline started to paint and continued, "Well, I was a bitch, which is par for the course with us. So how are things with you and Stefan?" Caroline changed the subject as she asked Elena.

"Anything?" Erin added. Elena shook her head, "No, not since the fight. He's been pushing me away, thinking that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt one of us. I just don't know how to change his mind."

Caroline stopped painting and sat next to Elena, "He said that Katherine's dangerous, maybe he's got a point." Elena's frustration was then put onto a new target: Caroline.

"Yeah, I know that she's dangerous, and I know that he's just trying to protect us, but it feels like giving up. And I-I just-" Elena retorted, stumbling on what to say to them. "Just what, Lena?" Erin asked, concerned for her twin.

"I just thought that we were stronger than that." Elena stated. She then turned her attention to painting, and after a moment, Stefan caught her eye. They stared at each other for a little before Caroline pointed it out, "Longing looks are being exchanged."

"I'm gonna go talk to him." Elena said, throwing her brush to the side. Caroline protested, "No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea." Elena just ignored her and went to Stefan. Erin just stood next to Caroline as Damon made his way over to them.

"What's her problem?" Damon asked them, and Erin answered, "Don't worry about it." Damon then turned to Caroline and asked, "Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?" Caroline responded by saying, "Don't worry about it."

"Do you still care about Katherine?" Elena questioned her maybe boyfriend. "Don't. Please don't turn this into something that it's not." Stefan pleaded. "So this is not up for discussion, that's what you're saying?" Elena asked, with an attitude.

As Damon and Caroline listened into the conversation, Erin got frustrated. She then tugged on Damon's arm and asked, "What are they saying?" Damon put a finger to her lips to silence her, but she gave him a look that said 'tell me now!'

"No, I'm saying that this isn't up for discussion right now because we have ears on us." Stefan said, the couple then turned to look at the vampires who feigned innocence as Erin waved at them and pointed to Damon and Caroline. Damon then swatted Erin's hand, and she pouted.

"Okay, when?" Elena questioned. Stefan shrugged and responded, "I don't know." "I saw her, Stefan. It's like we're all the same person. How could you hate her, be best friends with Erin, and then be in love with me?" Elena argued, trying to figure Stefan out.

"You're reaching, I'm not-I'm not Damon. You can't just be hot with me one minute and cold the next." Stefan stated, making Damon raise an eyebrow. "How about we don't bring Damon into this right now." Elena breathed.

"You know, I can't-I can't do this anymore, Elena." Stefan admitted, and Caroline was relieved that he finally broke it off. _He can't keep stringing her along, _she thought. "Fine, Stefan. Whatever." Elena said and stormed away, almost about to burst into tears.

"Relationships are about communication." Damon whispered into Erin's ear. She rolled her eyes and motioned for Caroline to follow Elena, Erin would get Stefan.

"You alright?" Erin asked him as she strode up to her best friend. He nodded and said, "I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Now, I can work on protecting you." Erin gave him a questioning look.

Stefan sighed, "Did Elena tell you what Katherine said to me, the reason why we broke up?" Erin shook her head and Stefan continued as Damon listened in. "She threatened to kill you and everyone you loved if Elena and I kept dating." Erin's eyes went wide, and her mouth gaped like a fish, trying to find something to say.

"Stefan, you really didn't need to do that. You two could have pretended to fight this whole time. I-" She tried to speak, feeling incredibly guilty for breaking them up. Stefan was extremely amused at the look on her face, but he cut her off.

"You did nothing wrong. The truth is I just wasn't really into our relationship anymore." Stefan shrugged. Erin nodded and told him that she would see him later. She then left to go check on Elena.

"Thank you." Mason said to the little girl after she handed him some lemonade. He drank it as Damon came up to him. "Hello, Mason." Damon greeted. "Working hard?" He asked.

"Doing my part." Mason replied. "I heard you talked to Stefan." Damon started. "Nice guy." Mason said shortly, and Damon goaded him, "Yeah, a lot nicer than me." "Nice is overrated." Mason responded.

Damon pretended to be friendly and laughed, "That's what I think." Mason sipped his lemonade and said, "You have a good day, Damon."

"Please tell me you two were just bonding." Stefan hoped that that would be the case as Damon answered, "So, what's up with this faux drama in your relationship?"

Stefan looked confused and asked, "What are you talking about?" "Oh, c'mon, Stefan! You and Elena don't fight, especially over me and Erin."

Stefan then gave Damon a warning look and advised, "Drop it, Damon." Damon shrugged, "With pleasure." He then turned to the lemonade stand as the little girl gave one to him.  
The lemonade burned Damon's throat, so he spit it out and started coughing. Stefan asked, "What's wrong with you?" Damon's response was a weak, "Vervain."

Stefan sat his brother down and smelled the vervain inside the cup. Unbeknown to them, Liz Forbes was watching them with disbelief.

Elena and Caroline sat on a rock as Erin came up to them. "You okay?" She asked her twin. Elena pursed her lips and replied, "Nope." Caroline then tried to lighten the mood by saying, "Maybe, it's for the best."

"It's not for the best, Caroline. None of this is for the best." Elena snapped. She then sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to take it out on you; you're just being a good friend." Erin could tell by the look on Caroline's face that Elena's comment hit home.

"No, I'm not. I'm not being a good friend at all." Caroline whispered, mostly to herself. Elena didn't hear it, but Erin did. She knew she was right. Caroline then snapped out of it when she saw her mom leaving.

"Where is my mom going?" She asked, and marched up to her. Elena and Erin scrambled to keep up with her. "What's wrong?" Caroline asked Liz.

"Oh, nothing, I just-I have something-"She got cut off by her daughter, "You mean work? It wouldn't surprise me; you lasted longer than five minutes."

"It's important." Liz reasoned, but Caroline stood her ground. "It always is." She argued as Liz apologized and walked away from her. Elena and Erin then made their way up to their blonde friend.

"What's going on?" Elena asked. Caroline watched her mother walk away as she said, "I don't know, but something's up."

Damon washed his mouth out with water as Stefan came up behind him. "I'm gonna kill him." Damon stated, but he and Stefan started fighting. "Sit, sit, sit!" Stefan repeated until he pushed Damon down onto the bench.

"I'm not listening to this give peace a chance crap anymore, he's dead." Damon growled. Stefan pushed his brother down and agreed, "Okay. I don't like it, he's making threats, he could expose us. We need to put him down."

Damon was astonished that his brother agreed with him, but he wouldn't dwell on it. They had a wolf to kill. He then saw Mason making his way into the woods with a few trashcans in his hands. "Woods, trash duty. C'mon."

"Where are you going? What is going on?" Erin questioned as the trio climbed a hill. "I need to be able to hear better." Caroline informed the twins. "Hear what?" Elena asked. Caroline shook her head and said, "Something's wrong, Elena."

"Caroline-" Erin started, but Caroline shushed her. She listened to everything around her, trying to find out what was going on.

Mason formed a pile of leaves when Damon and Stefan approached him. "Oh don't look so surprised, you knew this was inevitable. Go ahead, run. We'll give you a head start." Mason then ducked onto the ground while gunshots could be heard, Damon and Stefan then fell to the ground, unconscious.

Caroline turned around, "Oh god." She breathed. "What is it?" Erin asked, she had no idea what was going on, but it must be bad. "It's Stefan and Damon." Caroline answered and started jogging away. "What?" Erin then ran after her, pulling Elena along with her.

Mason then showed the cops the Lockwood cellar. "Be careful, the vervain and the wooden bullets won't keep them down for long." Liz warned them. She then turned to Mason and asked, "What is this place?"

"Old slave quarters from the original Lockwood house." Mason answered and jogged down the stairs with Liz. Once the Salvatores were lying on the ground, unconscious, Liz said, "Thank you, Mason. I appreciate all that you've done. We've got it from here."

"Hey, you're going to kill them, right?" Mason asked. "Yes, that's why you should go. This is above The Council, not the law. You can't witness this, it's for your own protection." Liz stated.

"Liz, I don't care about-"Mason said. "Yes, but I do. And I'm not asking, goodbye Mason." Liz told him, and he started to walk away before informing her, "Don't take any chances."

The girls ran through the woods, but Caroline stopped. "What is it?" Erin asked. "They've been here." Caroline answered, looking at the ground. "Blood." Elena pointed out as Caroline touched it.

They heard the crunch of leaves and turned around, "What are you three doing here?" Mason asked them, looking at Erin closely. "Have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked. "Yeah Elena, I've seen him. Seen Damon too." He stated.

"Where are they, Mason?" Erin demanded, stepping in front of Elena. "You don't need me for that, I'll let your friend here sniff them out. Does your mother know what you are? I'm happy to tell her." Mason smirked, and Erin shivered, this was not the Mason she knew.

Just as Caroline was going to rush up to him, Mason put Erin in a hold. She gasped as he did this. "Take it easy, necks snap easy around here." Mason threatened. Elena started yelling for him to stop and let go, but he ignored her.  
"I can take you." Caroline stated, and Mason gave her a questioning look as he tightened his hold on Erin. "Wanna bet?" He smirked. "Yeah I do." Caroline said before speeding over to them and knocking Mason off of her friend.

She pushed him up against the tree and pressed, "Told ya." Elena rushed to her twin sister who was on the ground. Erin rubbed her neck, _That's gonna bruise, _she thought. Caroline then kneed him and kicked him into the tree.

She quickly fixed her hair and said, "C'mon." Elena and Caroline ran away as Erin gave Mason a deathly glare. Erin then kicked Mason in the balls and ran to find her friends.

Liz kicked Damon awake, and then she shot him in the leg. He screamed in pain as Liz reloaded her gun. "This is how it's gonna work. Answer me, and you don't get shot, you understand?" Damon looked over to Stefan and found him still unconscious.

"How many of you are there?" Liz questioned him, Damon only whispered her name, pleading with her to stop this. She shot him again, and he howled in pain. "How did you fool us? How do you walk in the sun?"

When he didn't answer, she shot Stefan instead. "I will drag this out painfully." She promised. Damon groaned, "But you're my friend." "Our friendship was a lie." She snapped at him.

"Answer me, and I will kill you fast." She said calmly.

The girls made their way to the Lockwood cellar that Erin played by when she was little. "What is that?" Elena asked as Caroline held up a finger, listening. "He's not going to tell us anything. Kill them both." She could hear Liz saying.

"The girls were waiting for Caroline to say something, "My mom. She's killing them." She muttered. Erin went right into action and ran down the steps before Caroline could stop her. Elena was stopped by Caroline on her way down.

"We have to stop them." Elena told her. "No, I can't. My mom, she's gonna find out about me." Caroline pleaded, but Elena just ran down the steps and saw Erin hit a cop in the face with a board.

"Erin, Elena, what are you doing?" Liz asked them furiously. "You're not going to kill them, I'm not gonna let you." Erin snapped at the Sherriff. The cop pushed them both into the room and pointed a gun at them.

All of a sudden, the door shut. The cops started to panic, "Who else is with you two?" Liz questioned them. A mess of blonde hair swarmed towards a cop and bit into his neck, draining him. The other cop started shooting at the figure, but she blocked herself with the dead body.

She then took the gun out of his hands and hit him hard in the face. Liz was terrified. The blonde vampire started going into a frenzy, trying to calm herself down. Blood was smeared all over her face and she walked out of the shadows.

"Hi Mom." Caroline said as Erin and Elena attempted to help Damon and Stefan. Erin rushed over to Damon and dug the bullets out of his body. He then rolled over and started to drink some of the blood from the deputy that was unconscious.

Stefan woke up and Elena hovered over him, trying to help. Liz sat in the corner, and Caroline watched on with her legs tucked into her chest.

"You need to drink some deputy blood." Damon told his brother who was groaning in pain. "No, healing will just take a little bit longer." Stefan argued, he knew if he had some blood, he would lose control.

"Damon's right. You know, if there's any time to break your diet-" Caroline reasoned, but was cut off by Elena. "He said he doesn't want it okay?"

"This is the most unfortunate situation: Two deputies dead, and you. What are we going to do with you?" Damon informed them. Liz stayed silent, and Caroline asked, "You won't tell anyone, will you? Mom? Please! Look, I know that we don't get along, and that you hate me, but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right?"

Liz would not even look at her daughter as she pleaded, "Mom, please. He will kill you." Liz snapped her head up at this, "Then kill me. I can't take this. Kill me now." Caroline's cries of protest were heard as Damon stalked up to her.

"But you were gonna drag it out so painfully." Damon whispered to Liz, and then he grabbed her. Stefan, Caroline and Elena were all heard screaming, "Damon don't!" "No, no,no,no!" "Damon, please!" Erin had enough of them thinking Damon was evil, so she stood up and told them, "Relax, no one is killing anybody. Go ahead, Damon."

Damon gave her an appreciative nod and whispered to Liz, "You're my friend." He then turned to everyone else and said, "We really need to clean this up."

Erin, Elena, Caroline, and Stefan all made their way downstairs and into the basement to bring Liz her things as they heard her say, "Keep Caroline away from me, please. I don't want to see her." Damon tried to reason with her, "She's your daughter, Liz."

"Not anymore, my daughter's gone." Liz argued sadly. "You have no idea how wrong you are about that." Damon told her. Erin was proud of Damon for saying that, but her moment was cut short when Caroline stormed up the stairs. Erin then ran after her with Elena on her tail.

Stefan went to follow them, but his attention was focused on the cooler full of blood bags in front of him. "Stefan, I think that we should-" Elena stopped when she saw the blood bag in his hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked. Stefan kept his eyes on the blood, "Katherine took a little bit of vervain every day, she built up a tolerance to it. I can do the same with blood. I can learn to control myself more." He told her.

"But you can. Stefan, you don't have to." She reasoned with her somewhat ex boyfriend, she still loved him, of course. "I almost died tonight, Elena. Because I was too weak." He argued.

"But the last time you drank human blood-"Elena tried to say. "I told you I would find a way to stop Katherine, didn't I? This is it. This is the only way because she is stronger than me. And unless that changes, I can't protect you two." Stefan explained.

"Can we just not talk about this now." Elena sighed and pointed to her ear, indicating that Damon could hear. "He can hear us wherever we are because he drinks this. This is the only thing that can help me. I have to protect you two, Elena. Can't you see that?!" Stefan yelled.

Elena then scrunched up her nose, "Us two? You mean Erin don't you? I see the way you look at her, so don't play me like a fool. For months I have been telling myself that you two are just friends because that's what she seems to think you two are. You said you came into this town for us, but it was always Erin for you, wasn't it?"

Stefan looked down, shame coming over him for stringing Elena along for this long as she ran up the stairs at his silence.

Erin walked into the living room and found Caroline on the couch. "Can I take you home?" She asked her, Caroline shook her head. "I can't go home." "Why not?" Erin questioned, curious.

"Because I'm scared." Caroline answered, and Erin made her way over to the couch. "Why are you scared? Caroline, you can talk to me." Erin pressed, wanting Caroline to admit it. Caroline cried and responded, "Katherine's going to be there, and she's gonna want me to tell her everything that happened today."

"She told me that I had to spy on Elena and report back to her." Caroline added, and Erin nodded. "I know. And I've been so mad at you. But then, I tried to put myself in your position, so I could understand why you would do this to Elena, and to Stefan because he's been such a friend to you. Who did she threaten?" Erin asked.

Caroline cried as she repeated, "Matt." Erin then sat on the couch with Caroline, "I'm scared of her, Erin." Caroline whimpered. "You should be, we all should be." Erin told her.

"Why is she doing this? What does she want?" Caroline asked her. Erin shook her head, "That is the million dollar question." Erin then pulled Caroline in for a hug and held her while she cried.

Erin tucked Caroline in and said goodnight as Elena waited at the door for her. Erin was almost to the door when Damon came up to her. She signaled for him to be quiet and said, "Caroline is sleeping on the couch." "I heard, and you?" Damon asked.

Erin sighed and looked at Elena, "We're going home." She then moved to leave with her sister when she stopped. "What you did for Caroline's mom today, that's the Damon who's my friend. I hope I get to see him again soon." She told him, and he smiled.

Elena opened the door, but Damon's voice came over them, "Hey, Stefan didn't drink the people blood if you're curious, but he needs to. Deep down, you know that." Erin gave Elena a questioning look, but Elena told her sister, "You go, he needs you."

Erin raised an eyebrow, but did as she was told, nodding to Damon as she passed him. Stefan sat on the couch in the Salvatore library. Erin stood, watching him until he noticed her, "You can come in." He said. She then walked in asked, "Do you really think that you can control it?"

"I don't know. But if I don't try." Stefan stared at his hands as he heard her speak, "So a little bit every day?" He nodded, "Yeah, just a few drops of blood in my system. I think it's worth a try." Stefan told her. "So do I." She breathed and added, "But, I don't want you to do it alone."

Erin then picked up a letter opener and stared at it. "What are you doing?" Stefan asked her, curious as to what she was up to. She then proceeded to stab herself in the hand with it, drawing blood. She then sat next to him on the couch and offered her hand, "It's you and me, Stef. Always."

He then took her hand and sucked on the blood, the veins in his eyes popping out. Stefan calmed himself down once he had enough, and the two hugged. Erin then told him, "If I could bet on anyone to make it out of this, I'd bet on you."

Stefan then started laughing and asked, "Did you just quote The Hunger Games?" Erin then exclaimed, "Shut up! You ruined the mood, now hug me you oaf!" Stefan chuckled and hugged her again.


	6. Plan B

I opened my eyes in the morning to see Stefan sitting on my bed next to me. "Stop staring, it's creepy." I mumbled, and Stefan chuckled. Rising from my bed, I stretched my arms and yawned.

Glancing over at the clock, I noticed the time. "Dammit! I'm late; I'm decorating at the Lockwood charity thing." I explained to him, and he gasped. "What do you know? So am I!" I laughed and turned serious.

"Do you think it's a good idea to be at their house today? Mason tried to kill you." I said, concerned. "I don't trust Mason, I want to be there today to keep an eye on him." Stefan told me, and I grabbed an earring from my side table.

"What do you think Katherine's going to do next? You did what she wants, but now what?" I asked. Stefan shrugged, and I proceed to prick my finger with the earring. "Ow," I said as I drew blood. "That hurt?" Stefan questioned me, and I shook my head.

"A little bit every day to make you stronger." I spoke, and gave him my finger. He sucked on the wound, and when he was done, I took my finger away. "We'll get through this, I promise." He told me, and I smiled. "Pinky swear?" I asked playfully, and he put his pinky out and uttered, "Pinky swear."

Once Stefan left, I looked into the mirror. I moved my hair away from my neck and saw a bruise the shape of a handprint on my neck. _Mason. _I covered the bruise up with a scarf and got dressed.

* * *

Jeremy knocked on the door of the Salvatore Boarding House, and Damon answered. "I need to talk to you." He said. Damon squinted his eyes and replied, "Well I don't need to talk to you." Damon tried to shut the door in Jeremy's face, but Jeremy pushed back.

"Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his curse; he's not a werewolf yet." Jeremy started, but Damon cut in and said sarcastically, "Wow, fascinating. Not enough." Attempting to close the door on him again, Jeremy tried, "But Mason Lockwood is! And he's looking for a moonstone. A special rock connected to the werewolf legend, and that's why he's here."

"A moonstone?" Damon uttered, and Jeremy smirked, "And I know where it is." Damon then retorted, "And you're bringing this to me, why?" Jeremy shrugged, "Do I need a reason? Look, I just want to help, okay?"

"What did your sisters say about this little discovery?" Damon asked him, and Jeremy went quiet. "You haven't told them, have you?" Jeremy tried to walk in the house after saying, "Elena and Erin don't want me involved in this."

Damon put a hand out to stop the little Gilbert and guessed, "And you're a Gilbert and just couldn't help yourself." The two just stared each other down before Damon spoke, "Wow, you're search for life's purpose is as obvious as it is tragic."

"Are you gonna let me in or not?" Jeremy asked the vampire, and Damon stepped back to let him enter.

* * *

Over at the Lockwoods, everyone was helping out. "Jenna, thanks for helping wrangle the volunteers." Mrs. Lockwood thanked my aunt. She nodded and said, "Of course, for a great cause. Plus, I have always been a sucker for the Masquerade Ball."

Mrs. Lockwood threw her a smile and told, "So was Richard. This was always his favorite party of the year." The two were then interrupted when Matt and Tyler almost collided with a table. "Boys, be careful with that, it's from the 1800s. Excuse me." Carol then walked away, and Jenna then spotted Stefan.

She walked over to him and called, "Stefan, hey. I'm cooking dinner tonight, Ric will be there. You should come." "Oh, um. You know, Elena and I are taking a pause, and Erin and I have been having some conflict because of that." He lied, and Jenna raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, because that's not what I heard this morning in Erin's room. You two are best friends, I would stop with the 'we're fighting because of Elena' act. You know what? I heard nothing." Jenna smirked and walked away, leaving Stefan stunned.

* * *

Elena and I were walking when we saw Bonnie. She looked awkwardly at us, and we met under one of the tents. "You're here." Elena spoke, relief washing over her. "I'm here." Bonnie stated, and looked around, not being subtle at all.

"You know you could make it less obvious that you're looking for Caroline. She's not here, by the way. I told you." I muttered. "Just making sure." Bonnie replied while Elena placed candles down. "You know, eventually you're gonna have to talk to her." Elena said, and Bonnie snapped, "Could you make it a little less obvious that you two are on her side?" _She used my line!_

"There are no sides, Bonnie." I argued and her eyes widened as she talked, "C'mon, since Caroline became a vampire we all never see each other. Losing Caroline was bad enough, I didn't think I lose the two of you." Elena then grabbed both of our arms and ordered, "Come with me."

"Where?" Bonnie questioned, of course she would resist. "Not here, some place quiet." I assured her. Elena then took Bonnie's hand and pulled her in the direction of the lake.

* * *

Alaric walked into the Boarding House with a box in his hands. "Ric!" Damon greeted him, and Alaric looked up and saw Jeremy. He froze and asked, "What are you doing here?" Jeremy answered, "Helping Damon, I'm the one who found out about the moonstone." Alaric looked over to Damon and then back to Jeremy and asked, "Does Erin and Elena know you're here?"

Damon made a face, and Jeremy shook his head. "Not exactly." Damon then changed the subject and asked, "What do you got?" "This is Isobel's research from Duke, her assistant sent it to me." Alaric explained. "Vanessa, the hottie." Damon commented, which made Alaric roll his eyes,

"Vanessa, yes. Now, do you remember the old Aztec curse she told us about?" Alaric asked. "The curse of the Sun and the Moon blah blah blah." Damon drawled, and Jeremy butted in. "An Aztec curse, cool!" "Yeah, apparently vampires and werewolves used to roam freely until a shaman put a curse on them to limit their power. Since then, werewolves can only turn on a full moon, and vampires are weakened by the sun."

Damon twiddled his fingers and showed them the ring, "Most of them anyway." Alaric then continued with the story, "According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with the moonstone." "What do you mean sealed?" Jeremy asked, and Damon answered, "It's a witch thing, whatever the key is to sealing the curse is usually the key to unsealing the curse."

"Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to unseal the curse." Alaric guessed. "If we start believing in a supernatural witchy woo legend from a picture book, we're idiots. Where is the stone now?" Damon stated. "Tyler has it." Jeremy told him. "Can you get it?" Damon asked. Jeremy nodded and said, "Yeah."

"See, now your life has purpose." Damon joked. "So you do believe it?" Jeremy questioned. "It's the same book that says that a werewolf bite kills a vampire. Ignoring it would make me an even bigger idiot." Damon said. The trio then left for thee Lockwood house.

* * *

"I can't believe it." Bonnie said. "It's a lot, I know. Katherine's been doing everything she can to break Stefan and I up, and it worked. We fought, we're done, and Caroline just kind of got trapped in the middle." Elena explained.

"It's not that you and Stefan broke up, Elena. It's that I didn't even know you were fighting at all." Bonnie told her. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to keep things from you. It's just that you made it clear where you stand with the whole vampire thing." Elena defended.

I understood both of their points, and I was trying hard to be the mediator in this situation. "So that makes me the odd man out." Bonnie stated. "No, no Bonnie, of course not." I said. "I know where I stand, Elena. And I know where you two stand, but where do we stand?" She asked. "You're my best friend, Bonnie. I didn't mean to let this craziness with Caroline get in the way of that. But she needs you too." Elena apologized.

"Not yet, I just- She's a vampire. I can't, I think we should get back." Bonnie then got up and walked away, Elena and I watched her go with solemn expressions.

* * *

Mason smiled at everyone as he made his way to the tent. The smile then dropped from his face as he saw Stefan. "Hey Stefan." He greeted him. "Hey Mason." Stefan smirked. "Wasn't expecting you here, or anywhere." Stefan noticed the scared expression on the werewolf's face and explained. "Yeah, I had this little accident, but I'm fine now."

Mason walked closer to him and asked, "Where is Sherriff Forbes?" Stefan replied, "She's fine too, but from now on, you'll have to do your own dirty work." Mason looked at his feet and answered, "Not a problem." He then walked away, but not before bumping shoulders with Bonnie. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Bonnie looked out of it for a second, then confused. "What's the matter? You okay?" Stefan asked her. "Yeah, but when I touched him, I saw something." She told him. "What do you mean, like a vision?" Stefan questioned Bonnie, and she nodded. "I saw Erin, he was kissing her." Bonnie shrugged, and Stefan grew confused, "No, Bonnie Erin wouldn't kiss… you didn't see Erin, you saw Katherine." He stated.

* * *

Elena and I watched Bonnie and Stefan talking as we dug through masks. I felt a presence next to me, and prayed it wasn't Mason. I turned, and was relieved to see Damon, surprisingly. "Damon, what are you doing here?" Elena asked him. "Looking for my baby bro. Speaking of, would you get yours to stop following me?" Damon told us, and I raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?" I asked, and I could see Damon eyeing my scarf before answering, "Ask eager beaver."

Jeremy then came up to us as Damon started walking away, Elena gave me a look that said, 'I got this', and I left the two of them to argue to themselves. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my wrist. I gasped, and got scared as I collided with a hard chest. I let out a sigh of relief when I was met with Damon's blue eyes.

"You scared me." I stated, and he gave me a hard look. "Normally that wouldn't be happening, which gives me the feeling that something happened to make you afraid. You're also wearing that scarf which just screams cover up." Damon then tugged a little on my scarf, and I winced, hoping he wouldn't notice. He did. He started unwrapping the scarf from my neck as I protested and swatted at him.

Damon then whispered in my ear, "Relax." I did, and unhappily let him take the scarf off. When he saw the bruise on my neck, he pulled me into an empty room. "What the hell happened?" Damon growled. I couldn't look him in the eye, so I stared at the floor. "Nothing, Damon." I pleaded. Damon got angry and demanded, "Do not lie to me. Who did this to you?"

Tears welled in my eyes and Damon cupped my cheek so that we were gazing into each other's eyes. "Yesterday when we were searching for you and Stefan, Mason tried to stall us. He- he was gonna go for Elena, I could tell by the look in his eyes, so I stepped in front of her. He grabbed me and threatened to snap my neck." I told him the truth, I couldn't lie to him.

"I'm going to kill him." Damon sneered as he pulled me into a tight embrace. I snuggled my head into the crook of his neck and sighed, Damon was here to protect me. We stayed like that for a few more moments until Damon pulled away, but he kept an arm draped around my waist. He bit into his wrist and offered it to me, "Drink."

I brought the wound towards me and drank until I had enough. I instantly felt better and told Damon, "Thank you." He nodded and replied, "Anytime." We stared at each other, and I could feel his face inching towards mine. Suddenly, Stefan strode into the room. He looked at the two of us with an expression that I didn't quite understand. _Jealousy? Hurt? I'm confused…_

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you." Stefan gestured towards Damon who looked at me, and I nodded, telling him I would be fine.

* * *

"Mason Lockwood?" Damon exclaimed. The brothers paced, "We missed it, he got into town right after she did. It makes perfect sense." Stefan deduced. "I know, but MASON LOCKWOOD?" Damon asked again. Stefan shrugged and made a gesture that said 'I know'.

"Werewolf thing aside, the guys a surfer douche. She's gotta be using him, she has to be." Damon said. "Using him for what?" Stefan questioned. "Mason Lockwood is looking for a moonstone that can allegedly break the full moon werewolf curse. Maybe Katherine wants it as well." Damon explained. "Why?" Stefan countered, and Damon stated, "Well…no idea."

"That's the beauty of Katherine, she's always up to something." Damon sneered. "So how are we going to find this moonstone?" Stefan focused the attention on the unknown object. "Jeremy's getting it from Tyler." Damon informed him, and Stefan smacked his brother in the back of his head, "Why would you involve Jeremy?"

"He's playing Indiana Jones, he involved himself." Damon defended himself. The brothers made their way over to where Jeremy was talking with Jeremy, and they listened in on their conversation. Tyler gave the moonstone to Mason.

* * *

After hearing nothing from Damon or Stefan, I texted Stefan and asked if everything was okay. He quickly texted me back that he was with Damon and Bonnie and he would fill me in later. That spiked my curiosity, I wanted to know NOW.

"Okay, this is as far as I go. What do you want?" Bonnie questioned the brothers. "We need a favor." Damon told her, and Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "Like that's going to happen." "Oh so predictable, that's why I brought him." Damon said and gestured towards Stefan.

"I know how you feel about helping us out, but since you're the one who linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get an upper hand on both of them. So just hear us out." Stefan pleaded, and Damon added, "Pretty please."

I got up fed up with waiting for Stefan to answer me, so I just called him. "I'm listening." Bonnie told them, and Stefan's phone went off. "I have to fill Erin in on what's going on, so can you two play nice, please."

"Hey, what are you doing? You shouldn't be calling me." Stefan said, "I know, but I have no idea what's happening. Damon's got Jeremy into something and you've got Bonnie with you, and me and Elena are stuck sorting stupid masquerade masks with Mrs. Lockwood." I ranted.

"Alright, it's okay. Hold on." Stefan told me, and I could hear his amusement. "All you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood again and find out what Katherine is up to." Damon told her. "My visions don't work like that, I don't get to ask questions." Bonnie argued.

"How inconvenient. Although, let's start with the little witchy juju that you do with me. You know, the fun one where my head bursts into flames. What is that?" Damon asked. "That's me giving you an aneurism. Your blood vessels go pop, but you heal quickly, so I just do it over and over again." She explained.

"Is it vampire specific?" Damon kept coming at her with questions. "I'd work on anyone with a supernatural healing ability." She informed the vampire. "Good." He stated. "Damon, I'm not gonna help you hurt him." Bonnie countered. "Mason Lockwood's a werewolf, Katherine's a vampire, they're the bad guys. Really? You're gonna play morality police with me? Let me put it to you in another way, they are a threat to Erin and Elena. Katherine ruined Elena and Stefan's relationship, and Mason attacked Erin. Now you, witch, are gonna get over yourself and help us." Damon demanded, a dangerous edge to his voice.

Stefan hung up the phone and walked over to them, "He meant that as a question with a please at the end." "Absolutely." Damon glowered.

* * *

Mason walked down the steps of the Lockwood Mansion. "Hey, can you move your van, I'm blocked in." He told the driver. Then, Mason saw Bonnie unloading the van all by herself. Being the nice man that he is, he decided to help her.

"How did you get stuck doing that by yourself?" Mason jogged to her and chuckled. "All the guys bailed, something about draft picks. I don't speak that language." She lied. "Here let me give you a hand." Mason offered, that was when Bonnie started doing her thing. Mason screamed and clutched his head, the pain making him fall onto his knees. Damon then stalked over and happily kneed him in the face, knocking him out.

* * *

Damon opened the door of the truck so Bonnie could get in while Stefan took Mason's keys and tossed them to his brother. Stefan helped Damon load an unconscious Mason into the back of the car, and then Bonnie and Damon drove away.

Damon hauled Mason over his shoulder and dropped him on a chair in the library. "Here's his bag." Bonnie put the bag down and helped Damon spread a sheet. "Here grab that corner." Damon ordered, and Bonnie did what she was told. "And why are we doing this?" She asked. "Because I don't want to stain the carpet." Damon said honestly, knowing her reaction. "I knew you were going to say something like that." Damon sighed and retorted, "You're judging again."

"He's not going to be out much longer." Bonnie told him as Damon went through Mason's bag. "Woah, looks like this guy's used to being tied up." He said. Bonnie put her hands on the sides of Mason's face and focused. "What are you doing?" Damon questioned her. "You are looking for a moonstone, I'm trying to help you find it." She informed him.

"Oh, good, yeah. Find out if he gave it to Katherine, find out where she is, and find out what she's gonna do with it when she gets it." Damon told her. Bonnie focused, "It's somewhere small, dark, there's water." "Like a sewer." Damon guessed. "No, like a well. No that can't be right, yeah it's a well." Bonnie concluded.

"Why would it be in a well?" Damon asked. Bonnie glared at him and said, "I told you, I only get what I get." Mason then grabbed Bonnie's arm, starting to wake up. Damon helped her get out, and she stated, "That's it, that's all I got." Damon, surprisingly replied, "Hey Judgy, thank you."

Damon glared down at the werewolf in front of him, "C'mon, wake up wolfboy." Damon punched him, effectively making Mason conscious.

* * *

Elena and I were sorting through masks with Matt when he started asking about Care, "So where's Caroline? This is kinda like her thing. I can't believe she's not here." We shrugged and I told him, "She has something else to do." Matt sighed and asked, "Is she seeing someone?"

"Matt, c'mon. No she's not." Elena informed our human friend, and her ex-boyfriend. Stefan then came into the room, and I saw Elena tense up. Tyler then broke the awkward silence, "Has anyone seen Mason?" "He took off, said he wasn't sure when he'd be back." Stefan spoke.

Stefan then got a text from Bonnie, telling him that the moonstone was in the well on the old Lockwood property. I looked over at him curiously, and he shook his head. He then left the house, and I looked at Elena. She looked like she had the same idea I did, follow him.

* * *

Damon smirked as Mason struggled in the chair. He heated a fire poker in the flames, and was satisfied that it was hot enough. "Oh, someone's feisty." He goaded. Mason made the chair fall back, so Mason was lying on the ground. Damon then shoved the hot poker in Mason's chest, and Mason groaned in agony.

"You can hurt, good to know. I was afraid you would be some best with no affinity for pain. But you heal quickly, not good. I guess I'll just have to keep applying pain." Damon then pulled Mason upright in the chair and walked back over to the fire.

"So, Katherine? How do you know her? What's she up to?" Damon questioned him, and Mason spit on the ground and kept silent. Damon stalked up to Mason and shoved the poker in Mason's abdomen, "I have all day."

* * *

Stefan walked over to the well, flashlight in hand. Elena and I ran up behind him as he looked at it. "What's going on?" Elena asked, and Stefan stared at her, "You shouldn't be here." I rolled my eyes and wanted to move on from the theatrics. "She is, now what's going on?"

"Bonnie thinks the moonstone is down here." Stefan answered me as he threw the lock and cover away. We all looked down the well to see if we could spot the stone, but to no avail. Stefan sighed and climbed on to the top of the well. I handed him the flashlight and warned, "Hey, be careful." He nodded and replied, "I'll only be down there for a minute." I nodded and he jumped down.

The next thing I knew, Stefan was screaming, "Erin! Erin!" "Stefan? Stefan! What's going on in there?" I panicked and screamed down the well. "Vervain!" He shouted, and I gasped, scared for my best friend as he screamed in agony. I tried to lift the chains, but they were too heavy.

"Stefan!" Elena screamed, and thankfully, Caroline vampire speeded over to us after she heard us. "Erin, Elena!" Caroline called. "Caroline, Stefan's down there and the chains are heavy." I started explaining to her, and Elena stopped her as she tried to help, "You can't go in there, it's full of vervain." She told her.

"Caroline, we've gotta get him out NOW!" I ordered, and Caroline lifted the chains.

* * *

"When did you two meet?" Damon kept the questions going as he stared into the fire and back to Mason. "She seduce you and tell you she loved you?" Just then, Jeremy walked in holding the box of information. "You're supernatural, so she couldn't compel you. I'm sure she used her other charms. Katherine's good that way." Damon guessed.

He then took notice of Jeremy. "I thought I told you to leave." Damon said. "I found something in Ric's box of stuff." Jeremy informed him. "Oh, what is it?" Damon asked, looking at the mysterious plant in his hand. It looked like vervain.

"I did a search on my phone, it's a plant. Econidum volperia, it grows in the mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere. Commonly known as aconite, blue rocket, and wolfs bane." Jeremy told him. "What else did you read?" Damon drawled. "Well, every source says something different. One says that it causes lycanthropy which sounds bogus, another says it protects people, and the other one says its toxic."

Damon noticed Mason's expression, and said, "I'm guessing toxic." Damon took some of the plant and went up to Mason, "What's Katherine doing in Mystic Falls?" When Mason didn't answer, Damon rubbed a piece of the wolfs bane against Mason's face. "Why's she here?" Damon asked. "She's here with me. Why you asking? Jealous?" Mason told him. Damon feigned innocence for a moment and spoke, "How rude of me, I just realized, I didn't offer you anything to eat." Damon then shoved the plant in Mason's mouth and added, "Yummy." Jeremy looked away, not wanting to witness it.

* * *

Elena hooked the chains together, and Caroline said to me, "I got you, okay?" I nodded and was just about to go into the well when Bonnie came running up to us. "What's going on? You just took off in a blur." "I heard them screaming." Caroline explained whle Elena ordered, "Help her, now."

Bonnie held my hand and guided me into the well. "You ready?" Caroline asked, and I replied, "Yes." She then started lowering me down slowly until some of the chains slipped her hands. We all gasped, and Caroline called down, "Sorry." "It's okay, keep going!" I shouted. She did, and I finally reached Stefan. I unhooked myself, and took a good look at Stefan. His face made me want to cry, he looked so hurt.

"Oh my god." I gasped, and hooked him onto the chain. "Pull him up!" I yelled at them, and they did as I told. I grabbed the flashlight and searched around the water for the stone. "Erin! We're ready for you!" I heard Caroline say, but I just replied, "Hold on! I need to find the stone." I heard Caroline say "Hurry!"

I felt relieved when I saw something floating, "I think I found it!" I exclaimed, pulling the string to see a box. I gasped when I saw snakes slithering on me. Screaming, I told them, "I got it! C'mon, bring me up!" Caroline quickly pulled me up, and Bonnie and Elena unhooked and helped me out of the well. I threw the box aside as I saw Stefan.

"Oh god! Stefan!" I got no response, so I cut my hand on a nearby rock and put the wound to his mouth. I felt him start to drink, and I sighed, "I got the stone, Stefan. Stefan, it's going to be okay, everything's going to be okay." I think I said that mostly to convince myself, and for some time it worked.

* * *

"Why do you want the moonstone?" Damon questioned. "Screw you!" Mason cried, and Damon made a buzzer noise, "Wrong answer." Damon walked towards him and Jeremy stepped in, "If he was going to say anything, he would have already." Damon threatened Mason by saying, "It's going in your eyes now."

"The well. You can find it there." Mason yelled. "I know where it is. I want to know what it does and why you want it." Damon pried. "I'm getting it for Katherine." Mason answered. "Why?" Damon asked. "She's going to use it to lift the curse." Mason told. "Of the moon? And why would a vampire help a werewolf break a curse that keeps them from turning whenever they want?" Damon questioned.

"So I wouldn't have to turn anymore." Mason argued, and Damon kept asking, "Why?" Mason then snapped and responded, "Because she loves me!" Damon started laughing, "Now I get it, you're just stupid! Katherine doesn't love you, she's using you, you moron." Mason shook his head and stated, "I'm done talking."

"Yes, you are. It's time to take a walk, Jeremy." Damon said, but Jeremy refused. "I'm staying." "No, you should go." Damon argued. "I'm staying, Damon. He's had enough." Jeremy said. "Just help Tyler. Don't let this happen to him, tell Erin everything, she'll protect him." Mason pleaded. That last sentence made Damon's blood boil. "Damon." Jeremy begged.

Damon sped Jeremy over to another chair in a choke hold. "You wanna be part of this? Well here it is, kill or be killed. The guy's a werewolf, he tried to kill me the first chance he got. So you suck it up, or leave. He wants me to kill him anyway, don't you Mason? It really is a curse, isn't it?" Jeremy then got up and left as Damon spoke, "You know, when I look at you, I see myself. A less dashing less intelligent version."

"I love her." Mason argued, and Damon cried, "I know! I've been where you are. But Katherine will only rip your heart out, so let me do it for her." Damon then grabbed a hold of Mason's heart and stood there for a second before speaking again, "But the difference between you and me is that I would never hurt Erin. So, guess what? The best man did win." Damon then ripped his heart out with great satisfaction.

* * *

I walked into the house and saw Alaric setting the table, he mouthed to me 'are you okay', and I nodded and put a finger to my lips. Elena was at Bonnie's, they wanted to reconnect.

* * *

Damon patted Mason's body as Stefan walked into the room with the moonstone in hand. "All of this for that?" Damon asked. "Yup." Stefan replied, and looked at the body on the floor. "I see you exercised your usual restraint." He added, and Damon shrugged. "Had to be done." He answered. Damon then picked up Mason things from the ground and looked through his phone.

He then sent a fake text to Carol saying that Mason would be gone for a while. "Let's get rid of the body." Stefan said, but Damon didn't hear him. "Last number dialed, I wonder who that could possibly be." Stefan snapped his head up and scolded his brother, "No, no, no! Don't provoke her!" Damon called the number and heard Katherine pick up.

"Mason, you should have been here an hour ago." She complained, and Damon smirked. "Wrong boy toy." He spoke, and Stefan knew they were screwed. "Damon. For once, you've surprised me. I assume Mason's with you." She guessed. "He's right beside me, although his heart's across the room." Damon goaded his ex.

"You shouldn't have." She snapped. "I've had a very busy day today. Killed a werewolf, found a moonstone. Hey, did you know that he hid the moonstone in a well full of vervain? Guess he didn't trust you very much. Although he did love you, poor guy. Hey, where are you because I could just bring him over. Last goodbyes and all that." Damon provoked her.

"You have no idea what you've just done." Katherine threatened him. "Aww, did I put a kink in your master plan? I'm so sorry." Damon faked sympathy. "Do you honestly believe I don't have a plan B? And if that fails a plan C, then a plan D, and you know how the alphabet works don't you? Send my love to Stefan." And with that, she hung up.

* * *

I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where Alaric and Jenna were. "Where's Jeremy?" I asked. "He said he wasn't hungry." Alaric replied, and then I noticed Aunt Jenna on the phone. "Who's she talking to?" I asked. "I don't know. Did everything go okay today?" He questioned. "There were a few hiccups, but yeah." I told him, and then Aunt Jenna gave the phone to me.

"Who is it?" I asked her, and she just shrugged. "Hello?" I asked. I heard my own voice reply to me, "Hello Erin." My eyes widened and I turned away from Alaric, "Katherine." "Did you enjoy your little rendezvous with Stefan this morning? Trust me, Erin, I always know. I will always be one step ahead of you, when are you going to figure that out?" She asked me.

"Why are you telling me this? You told Stefan to stay away from Elena, not me." I argued. "Well, I heard that you were now spending even more time with him. Consider me jealous, but I don't want you and Stefan to be friends anymore either. Do you realize how easy it was to get inside your house? To replace Aunt Jenna's vervain perfume, to convince her to stop drinking her special tea." She said, and I could feel my pulse racing.

Alaric gave me a questioning look, but I shook my head, "No." I uttered. "Jenna's been my little spy for days now. But unlike you, Jenna actually listens to me, so when I told her that the world would be a much better place if she just-"I saw Jenna raise the knife and stab herself, I raced towards her, but it was too late.

* * *

In the ER, Elena and I walked over to Jeremy who was waiting with a coffee. He shot up from his seat as he saw us. "Is she okay?" Jeremy asked us. "The doctors told Alaric that she got lucky." I told him, and Elena added, "She's gonna make it, she's gonna be okay."

"Does she remember what happened?" Elena asked me, and I shook my head. "No, it was all part of Katherine's compulsion." "But why would Katherine hurt Jenna?" Jeremy questioned, and I knew the answer. "Because she's trying to send a message that she could hurt anyone." I explained, tears welling in my eyes.

My siblings embraced me and Jeremy muttered, "She's gonna pay, Erin. I don't know how, but she's going to pay."

* * *

I walked into the Salvatore library, knowing what I needed to do. "I'm so sorry." Stefan told me. "We were stupid, sneaking around, thinking that Katherine wouldn't get mad." I spoke, tears rolling down both of our faces. "I know." He uttered.

"We did this. Stefan, Jenna's in the hospital and Jeremy could be next. All because we didn't listen to her, because we're best friends. Stefan-"He then interrupted me and told, "I know what you're going to say to me." Another tear came into my eye as I argued, "Then let me say it. I have been so selfish because you're my best friend and I love you so much. And I know you feel the same way, but Stefan it has to be done. We can't be friends anymore."

I then embraced him and kissed his cheek before running into the hall. I almost made it out the door when Damon stopped me, "Erin." I turned to look at him, and his expression softened. Damon then walked up to me and cupped my face, "I riled Katherine up, I wasn't thinking. I didn't think." I held his hand and told him, "It doesn't matter, Damon. She won, Katherine won."

I was about to say something more, but I kept my mouth shut as I stormed out of the house.


	7. Masquerade

"Here." Damon gave Caroline a glass of blood to calm her nerves. She gladly accepted it, "I'm still shaking." She then took a sip as Stefan walked into the room.

"What happened?" He asked. Caroline sighed and Damon urged her, "Go on, tell him. You're going to love this." "I saw Katherine today." She admitted, this peaked Stefan's interest and he questioned, "Where?" She answered, "At the Grill. I just stopped to gawk and stalk Matt."

"Skip the teen drama. Get to it." Damon told her. Caroline then went on, "Then, I had to pretend to use the bathroom even though I didn't have to go because I'm a doofus. She then pretended to be Erin again, but I knew Erin was at home. I tried to leave but she was faster, and she wanted to give you two a message."

"What was the message?" Stefan asked her. "She wants the moonstone or else she will rip the town apart till it rains blood." Caroline said. "Tell him the rest of it." Damon spoke, and Caroline continued, "Tonight at the masquerade ball."

"She wants to do it in public, killing Mason threw her off guard." Stefan concluded. "She's running scared. What she did to Jenna was desperate, she was out of tricks." Damon stated. "We can't underestimate her, we have to play this smarter than her." Stefan said.

"Can't we just give it the moonstone to her so she'll leave?" Caroline pleaded. "No." Damon stated and added, "Katherine's not getting dick. I've had it. I'm gonna go to the Masquerade Ball, and I'm gonna kill her. Tonight." Stefan shook his head, "You're not gonna kill her."

Damon pointed at his little brother and snapped, "Don't give me that goody goody crap." "You're not gonna kill her." Stefan argued. "Oh really?" Damon asked. "Because I am." Stefan told him, making a Cheshire grin form on the older vampire's face.

It was a group effort bringing Aunt Jenna home from the hospital. Thankfully, Matt helped all of us get her back home. "Easy," He guided Jenna through the door with Jeremy while Elena and I were in back of them.

"Jeremy stop fussing, I'm fine." Jenna told him. "Jenna, the doctor said you have to take it easy." I said, and she rolled her eyes over my smothering behavior. "Yeah, you don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage, and die alright." Jeremy spoke sarcastically.

"The only thing I'll die of is embarrassment. I walked into a knife, how does someone even do that?" Jenna complained, which made Jeremy and I look at Elena. She was the one who came up with that lame excuse. "It was a freak accident." She squeaked.

"It happens." Jeremy added. "Yeah, I've done it like 20 times at the Grill. Okay, I'm being nice." Matt assured her, which made me smile. I missed Matt, we used to be as close as Stefan and I before Elena broke up with him and my parents died.

We all helped lower Jenna onto the couch, and Matt asked, "What should I do with this?" Elena grabbed it from him, and we walked into the kitchen. Jeremy followed us, "So what are we gonna do?" "Make lunch." I replied casually. Today was a no vampire day, we were going to stay home and hang out with Jenna.

"No, about Katherine." Jeremy said, and both I and Elena looked at him. "We're not going to do anything Jeremy." Elena spoke. "She tried to kill Jenna, we can't let her get away with that." Jeremy argued.

"Yes we can. If it means we're safe, then we can." I told my little brother, and Elena nodded her head, agreeing with me. "What if she tries something else?" Jeremy questioned us. "She won't." Elena stated. "Katherine hurt Jenna because I was friends with Stefan. I stopped talking to him and being friends with him, it's over, she wins. The end." I added.

"You're being naïve and you know it. Both of you." Jeremy stated, and I couldn't argue. He grabbed his jacket off the chair and put it on. "Where are you going?" Elena asked. "Out. I'll be back." And with that, he went out the door.

Bonnie showed up at the Salvatore Boarding House to find Caroline. "I got Stefan's message." She stated. "Great, you brought the grimore. Thank you." Stefan said, and Bonnie looked around. "What's going on?" She asked.

Jeremy then came up beside her and told, "We're gonna kill Katherine." Bonnie gave them all a 'WHAT!?' look and Stefan said, "I can explain… We're gonna kill Katherine."

"Now this works with compressed air, the trigger mechanism's here. You got two of these in different sizes. Now, for you, I recommend this. Fits nicely under a jacket sleeve, here's the trigger. And when you're ready." Alaric showed off his "toys" as he liked to call them, while everyone watched with wide eyes.

"You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire, so." He added. After the short little rendezvous, Bonnie talked to Stefan in the hallway. "I know you love Erin and want to be with her, but it's too risky, too many people could get hurt." Bonnie spoke.

"Look, I want to be with Erin, yes, but it's more than that. What Katherine did to Jenna, it crossed the line, and she has to be stopped before it happens again." Stefan told her, and Bonnie shook her head, "I don't know, Stefan."

"Look, Katherine knows me. She knows that I'm not gonna try something in a crowd full of innocent people, so that gives me an edge, the element of surprise." Stefan said, and Bonnie looked at the group assembled in the living room.

"I could do a spell to trap her, like the tomb spell." Bonnie offered. "Right, we can isolate her away from the others. Please Bonnie." He begged, and she finally said. "Fine, okay."

"You know, you're welcome to hang out. Alaric's coming over; it's gonna be pizza and bad tv, just like the old days." I told Matt, with a smile on my face. "I would love to, but I'm going to the Masquerade party at the Lockwoods. Aren't you two?" He asked us, and Elena answered.

"No, not with what's going on between us and Stefan." "I gotta go, there's something I gotta do." Matt informed us, and we nodded. "What?" Elena asked, and he vaguely answered. "Just something, I can't talk about it, but I've gotta go."

"Ok, well have fun." I said to him, he really needed to let loose. "Yeah, in a suit." He replied. I laughed and Elena spoke, "You look good in a suit." I snapped my head to Elena and widened my eyes a little, _what was that flirty little comment? Go Elena! _

"Won't Stefan be worried, though?" He asked. "I don't think so, there's so much about me and Stefan that will never work. It's for the best, though." Elena said sadly, but I knew that she was trying to move on.

Matt hugged me and smiled before turning to Elena, "You know I'm here for you always." He said sincerely, and I wondered what the future would hold for them.

"You sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Alaric asked the group. "No, I need you to stay with Erin and Elena, we don't want them to know about this." Stefan declined. "Okay, well I'll make sure they don't leave my sight." Alaric assured him.

Jeremy then pitched in and told him, "Just watch out, those two together are very mischievous. Erin is the ring leader in that relationship, so know that you can trust Elena to tell the truth." Stefan looked around the room as Alaric nodded.

"Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand." Stefan offered. "Yeah, cold feet. Speak now, I don't want this going wrong, if someone chickens out. Caroline." Damon spoke. "I won't. She killed me, fair is fair. As long as there are no werewolves running around." Caroline said.

"Oh, I took care of Mason." Damon assured them, smirking. "As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn." Jeremy stated. Bonnie looked hesitant, so Stefan asked, "Bonnie, you with us?" Everyone looked at her, and she nodded, "As long as no one else gets hurt." "Except for Katherine. Tonight Katherine gets a stake through her heart." Damon said.

Katherine and Lucy sauntered up the steps of the Lockwood Mansion. Katherine plucked fruit off of a plate and started to gnaw on it. She then saw Matt, "Elena?" "Matt? You look dashing." She replied, pretending to be one of her doppelgängers.

"I thought you said you weren't coming." He said, but Katherine shook her head, "I couldn't miss it." "Where's Erin?" Matt asked her. "She wanted to stay home, wasn't really in the mood to party." Katherine lied, but then decided to change the subject. "You really are hot in a suit, I would love to just- okay, here's the deal. Do you know what you have to do?"

"I'm gonna get Tyler Lockwood really drunk, and I'm gonna start a fight with him and beat him until he snaps." Matt answered robotically. "And then?" Katherine questioned. "I won't stop until he kills me." Matt stated. "God you're hot, now go away." Katherine ordered.

Damon walked down the steps to meet his younger brother, "You see her?" "Nope. You sure you can do this?" Stefan asked. Damon scoffed, "Who are you talking to?" Stefan shrugged, "Well, I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated."

"Well that's the fork in the road between you and me my friend, I don't hesitate." Damon pointed out. "You spent 145 years loving her, it could happen." Stefan argued. "I won't hesitate." Damon countered. Stefan just nodded and said, "Okay."

Bonnie and Jeremy made their way upstairs to one of the rooms. "This room could work." Jeremy offered, and Bonnie agreed, "It's perfect." Jeremy unloaded the weapons while Bonnie opened her grimorie. "Is that the spell book I read about in my family's old journal?" He asked. She nodded and explained, "It's my ancestor Emily's. The spell I'm doing here is similar to the one that sealed the vampires into the tomb."

"Can you do all the stuff that's in there?" Jeremy questioned the witch. "It takes practice. I worked on some small spells, spells that only do good. I don't want to know too much. I don't particularly enjoy any of this, in case you haven't noticed." Bonnie replied.

"You're 100% witch, that is so cool." Jeremy exclaimed. "It's anything but cool. Did your family journals tell you what happened to Emily, or what about my Grams? It never ends well for people like me." She agrued.

"Well, if you feel that way, why help?" He asked. "Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt. And I don't know how to stay out of it."

"I feel like an invalid." Jenna complained as I handed her the mug. "That's because you are an invalid." I joked, grabbing a slice of pizza. "Where's Jeremy? Isn't he hungry?" Elena asked. "He already left for the Lockwood party." Jenna told us.

"He went to that?" I asked. "Well, I'm glad. He needs to have more fun, lose some of that emo thing." Jenna said, and then Elena and I got up as I saw Alaric in the kitchen. "What's going on?" I questioned him. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"We haven't heard from anyone all day, it's like everyone's been avoiding us, and now Jeremy is supposedly at the party. He hates stuff like that, and he only goes to see how drunk Erin gets." Elena explained, and I was offended at the last part. "Hey!" I squeaked, but she only nudged me.

"I don't know what to tell you, Elena." Alaric said, and then his phone rang and he snatched it away from us. This got my curiosity peaked. "So, you won't mind if we head out, try to meet up with everyone." I spoke, starting to walk away, but he stopped me. "Wait, wait, wait." He repeated.

"What are you hiding, Ric?" I demanded, putting on my bitchy face. "Stefan asked me to keep an eye on you two just in case Katherine showed up while he was at the party." He sighed, giving up the information. "So Stefan's at the party too. He would never go to that party for himself; he did that stuff for me." Elena calculated, and I agreed with her, something was definitely going down tonight.

"Just let this one go, okay girls?" Alaric told us, _No way in hell that was happening! _

"We need to tell Stefan and Damon that the room is ready." Bonnie spoke, but stopped when she felt something. "Do you feel that?" She asked Jeremy. "What's the matter, you cold?" Jeremy replied. "No," Bonnie said and looked around. The feeling brought her over to a woman.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" Bonnie asked. "No, I'm a plus one. I know no one, great party though." Lucy smiled and walked away. "You okay?" Jeremy asked. "I just got a weird vibe from her, that's all. Let's go find Damon." She ordered.

Stefan spotted Katherine walked down the steps, and then she appeared behind him. "Dance with me." She suggested, and Stefan pretended to think about it for a second before saying, "No." Katherine then picked up another strawberry from a plate. "Fine, tell me who I should kill. Him? Oh, she looks delicious."

Stefan offered her his arm and the pair made their way to the dance floor. They started dancing and Katherine smirked, "It's a beautiful night." "Why the charade?" Stefan asked, and Katherine changed the subject. "How's Jenna? I surely didn't expect her to survive that, lucky girl, clumsy. How does one stab oneself?"

"Katherine, I don't want anyone to get hurt tonight." Stefan told her. "Give me the moonstone and nobody will." She bargained. "Well, see I don't have the moonstone on me, so you and I will have to go get it together." Stefan breathed. "I have a better plan, you fetch it, and I will stay here and try not to kill anyone in the meantime." Katherine countered.

"My way, or you don't get it." Stefan stated, but then Amy Bradley strode up to them. "Stefan, I can't find Matt. Oh my god, Elena, you look so pretty. I love that dress, you look gorg." Amy complimented. Katherine then proceed to pretend to be Elena and smiled, "Thank you, I love your necklace. Here it's twisted, let me."

Katherine then used her vampire strength to shatter Amy's spine, "Paralyzed from the waist down, and dead. The moonstone, Stefan. Tick Tock."

Elena and I both knew that Alaric was keeping us away from the party, so we decided to sneak out. Since Jeremy probably tipped Alaric off on our sneaking out strategies, we decided to use a different tactic. Elena. "Hey guys, we're gonna go to bed. Good night." Elena told them, and I grabbed the keys while she opened and closed the door quietly.

"The body's in the trunk for now." Stefan informed his older brother. Damon shrugged, "We'll dump the body when we get back." "This is exactly what I didn't want, Damon." Stefan said, and Damon replied nonchalantly, "It was collateral damage, Stefan." "Yeah, and that's why we need to call it off." Stefan argued.

"What? Who's hesitating now? Hey, don't do this to me. This woman ruined our lives, she destroyed us. Tonight it ends. We can do this together, I got your back." Damon told his brother who nodded. "Alright, fine."

Elena and I hid by the bushes, waiting to see any of our friends come out. Jeremy then walked by, and I grabbed him. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded with Elena at my side. Bonnie then came over and saw us, and I ordered them to explain everything. "You're trying to kill her here?" Elena asked. "We saw an opportunity and knew we had to take it." Jeremy tried to reason with us.

"Okay, please stop with the 'we'. Are you guys crazy? You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Elena exclaimed. "We know what we're doing, Elena." Bonnie argued, and I just let them all go at it. "And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of us?" Elena questioned them.

"It's not just you anymore, Elena. She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped." Jeremy stated. I huffed, and gave them a hesitant look.

"Why are you bringing me into this? I don't want any part of it!" Caroline cried as she was being dragged by the hair. "Shut up." Katherine snapped and walked into the room. "Where is she?" Katherine asked, and was greeted by silence. She turned to look at a smiling Caroline. "I did it. I didn't think that I would be able to fool you, but I did it." Caroline boasted.

Katherine rushed to attack at her, but a barrier blocked her from getting to her. "What the- Stefan." Katherine figured it out. "Hello Katherine." He greeted her. Caroline smiled and taunted, "Goodbye Katherine."

Katherine looked at the stake in Stefan's hand and said, "You don't really think you can kill me with that now do you?" Stefan shook his head and saw Damon holding a crossbow and pointed, "No, but he can." Damon fired the bow at Katherine, and it hit her straight in the back.

Suddenly, I could feel a huge pain in my back. I screamed and fell, and I could see Elena did the same. "Erin! Elena!" Jeremy and Bonnie yelled. I held my back as Jeremy kept me standing upright while Elena was hunched over on the ground. Next, pain shot through my arm, and blood seeped through my shirt.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked. "Jeremy, it's Katherine. They're linked to Katherine. Get them to stop, now!" Bonnie demanded. Jeremy took my hand and we ran through the Lockwood Mansion. We stopped when we saw Stefan holding Katherine on the floor, and Damon was about to stake her.

"Stop! You're hurting Erin and Elena! Everything you're doing to her is hurting Erin and Elena!" Jeremy yelled, and everyone in the room looked at me as I slumped against my brother. Katherine then got up and brushed herself off, "You think you two are the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong. Something tells me that my witch is better then you're witch."

"Jeremy, go check on Elena, make sure she's okay." I told my brother. Jeremy shook his head and argued, "No, I'm not leaving you." Damon then pitched in and stated, "She'll be fine in here, go check on Elena." Jeremy then reluctantly left, but not before trying to give me his ring. "No, Jere. You need it. Now, go."

I stepped into the spelled room, and immediately, Damon sped over to check on me. "Let's all make sure poor Elena's okay. Just a little bit more pressure and…" She ran the stake over and hand and I yelled out in pain as a wound appeared on my hand.

Stefan slapped the stake out of her hand. Damon then bit into his wrist and offered it to me. I shook my head and slumped against him as Katherine pointed the stake at her stomach and said, "This is gonna hurt." "Wait!" Damon yelled, and Katherine smirked. "So, how about that moonstone."

Katherine sat on the couch, and I thought it was weird how much she looked like Elena and me. I sat in the chair, staring at her. Stefan was pacing, and Damon was testing the barrier. "The three of us together just like old times, well except for Erin. The brother who loved me too much, and the one who didn't love me enough." She said.

"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself." Damon stated, and I chuckled a little bit. "What happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite." Katherine said. "Oh, that Damon died a long time ago." Damon smirked. "Good, he was a bore." I rolled my eyes, "Would you two stop antagonizing each other. You're like Damon with Elena."

Katherine whipped her gaze to me, "Thank you, my doppelgänger for getting me back on track. So, where's the moonstone?" "What do you want with it?" Stefan countered. "Erin, do you enjoy having both of them worship at your altar? I know I did." She said to me, and I got up, even though I was in an immense amount of pain, but it started to lessen.

Damon stopped me from doing anything, but I just stated, "When the spell is lifted, I really hope they kill you." Katherine smirked and sauntered up to me, "So fearless. Maybe you are different from me after all, but maybe you're not. You remind me too much of myself."

"That was really desperate Katherine, don't you think that we can see right through you?" Stefan taunted. Katherine then turned to Stefan and asked, "So, it doesn't bother you that Damon is in love with your best friend, and the fact that she may even love him too?"

Stefan shook his head and said, "Stop it." "Or what, you'll hurt me? C'mon Stefan, everything that I feel, Erin and Elena feel, so go ahead. Or better yet, kiss me Damon. Erin will feel that too." She attempted to goad them, and I just rolled my eyes at her games.

"You know, this whole Mason thing has me confused, why a werewolf? The moonstone would help them break a curse that would destroy all vampires, so what's in that for you?" I asked her, wanting to get some answers. She was about to say something, but then Damon cut her off. "Sorry about your pet wolf, probably should have kept him on a tighter leash."

"I'll have to remember that for next time, he's not the only wolf in town." Katherine said, and I snapped my head to look at her. "Tyler." She smirked and winked at me.

"Dammit, where's that witch?" Damon asked, impatient. He then looked at me and asked, "You okay? Because I can give you some blood." I shook my head and said, "I'm fine, I think Bonnie did something." "We could play charades." Katherine suggested.

"You bargained the moonstone." Stefan stated, out of the blue. "What are you mumbling about over there?" Damon questioned him. "When you struck a deal with George Lockwood to help you fake your death, you told me you gave him something he wanted. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?" Stefan deciphered.

"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus Two. It would have worked, except people found out I wasn't in the tomb. Thank to you, by the way, have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?" Katherine asked. "You and me both honey." Damon replied and sipped his drink.

"Why do you need it back?" Stefan asked, and Katherine answered, "I love you in a suit, so dashing." I was proud of Stefan for standing his ground. "What were you doing with it in the first place?" He asked. Damon rolled his eyes and said, "You're wasting your breath, Stefan."

I calculated everything in my mind before stating, "Unless it wasn't yours to begin with. In 1864, you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?" They all looked at me with surprised looks, and I could tell that Stefan was proud of me.

Katherine then turned to Stefan, "In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench Lexi. C'mon Stefan, don't look so surprised, of course I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi, and I was watching you." After she said that, I whispered in Damon's ear, "Creepy." He smiled and nudged me.

"Who were you running from?" Stefan asked her again, and she just mouthed 'I love you". A little while later, Stefan and Damon stood next to each other silently as I poured myself a drink. "We're missing the party." Katherine complained and I agreed. She then saw me sipping my drink and said, "I'll have one of those."

I rolled my eyes and mocked, "Right away Miss Katherine." When she went to take the drink from my hand, I let it go, and watched it smash on the ground. I knew what Katherine would do next, it was so predictable. She grabbed my neck and shoved me against the wall. The brothers tried to get her off of me, but she wouldn't budge.

"No, no don't." They both said, and I smirked at Katherine, "Yes, Kat please." She looked confused and I stated, "You need me around, I don't know what for, but you do. We're linked, honey, so if you kill me now, you'll kill not only Elena but yourself as well. I know how you operate, Kat, you'll always look out for number one. That's why you haven't killed me yet, huh?"

My doppleganger scowled and let me go. I smirked at her, and walked away from her, brushing her shoulder. Just then, a woman came up into the room with the moonstone, "Katherine. The spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave." "Thank God." Katherine replied. "When I hand this over. My debt to you is paid." She stated. "Done." Katherine said, and was about to take the moonstone before the witch stopped her, "I owe you nothing." "I said done, give it."

Damon tried to stop her, but the witch plopped the moonstone into Katherine's hand. Suddenly, Katherine started choking, and all eyes were on me, "Wait, Erin-" Stefan started, but Lucy interjected, "The spell has been broken, she'll heal quickly Bonnie cast a spell. I apologize for my involvement." She then turned on her heel and left. I sighed, "I'm gonna go check on Elena. Bit of advice, put the bitch in the tomb." I then walked away and found Elena.

We stood by the lake in the back of the Lockwood estate, and Stefan walked up to us. "I'm fine. Bonnie took away the pain, and I think I'm healing." Elena offered and I added, "Me too." Stefan nodded and looked at us, concerned, "I know, but you both should at least see a doctor." "We will, but I'm just gonna wait in the car, Erin." Elena said, and waved to Stefan awkwardly.

I could tell that Elena was still a little unnerved by the break up, and I didn't blame her. "Did Damon take care of Katherine?" I asked, hopeful. He nodded and smiled, "I was so worried about you, but I am so proud of the way you stood up to her and figured everything out." He cupped my face, and I stopped him, "Stefan, I-" I took his hands off of my face and he stated, "Katherine being gone doesn't change anything for you, does it?"

"I want to be friends again, Stefan, you know that, but first I need to wake up and know that the people I love are safe. I need to feel safe. Do you understand?" I explained to him, and he nodded. I just sighed and walked away from my friend, different emotions rising to the surface.

Katherine woke up in a strange place with the moonstone next to her. She tried to get out, but something prevented her from doing so. She stopped fighting when she saw Damon emerge from a door, "Hello Katherine." "Where am I?" She asked. "Where you should have been all along. I thought you would have learned your lesson by now, messing with a Bennett witch." He stated, and she shook her head, "You should have killed me." Damon could hear the fear in her voice.

"Death would have been too kind." He sneered, grabbing the door. "No, no, Damon don't. You need me Erin and Elena are in danger." She pleaded. He stopped and asked, "From who?" When there was no reply, he stated, "You're lying, you're always lying" Almost shutting the door completely, Katherine begged, "Why do you think I haven't killed her? One of them is my doppelgänger, they need to be protected."

"Then I'll protect her, while you rot in hell." Damon told her as he shut the door. She kept pleading and yelled, "You need me!"

I was on the phone with Jeremy, making my way towards the car. Elena was supposed to be waiting for me in the car as well, so I tried to hurry. "Don't worry, Jer, Elena and I have got the car. Tell Bonnie that whatever she did, I'm starting to feel better. Yeah, you can drive her home, I'm just gonna go straight to bed. Okay." I then hung up, but I could feel a presence behind me.

I turned around to see a person in a creepy mask, and as he put a hand over my mouth, everything went black.


	8. Rose

A large black SUV pulls up to meet another car in the middle of nowhere and stops. A man gets out of the smaller car and goes up to the window of the SUV. "Where are they?" The man inside the SUV asked. "In the trunk, I did exactly what you said." The other replied.

"Good, put them in the back." The man ordered. The other man nodded and walked around to the trunk of his car opening it to reveal an unconscious Erin and Elena lying down, he picked Elena up carefully and places her in the back of the SUV, and then he does the same to Erin.

"Thank you for your help." The man in the car said. "Is there anything else?" The other guy asked, and the man in black urged him to come closer. When he did, the man bit and drained the guy, smirking as he fell to the ground.

Jeremy was a little annoyed as he got ready for school, Elena didn't wake him up. He knocked on Erin's door knowing that she was probably still sleeping, "Yo, Erin! Get up, it's time for school!" When he heard no response, Jeremy checked Erin's room and found that her bed was made, and his sister was nowhere to be found.

At school, Jeremy talked to Stefan about it. "Look, Elena's got to let me know if I'm supposed to cover for her. I mean Aunt Jenna's cool with it, but you guys are pushing it." Jeremy explained, and Stefan grew confused. "What are you talking about? Elena and I aren't back together." He told him.

"Wait, she didn't stay at your place last night?" Jeremy questioned, and Stefan shook his head, "No, I mean I saw her at the party with Erin, but that was it." Jeremy then panicked a little, "Because she wasn't home, and she and Erin's beds hadn't been slept in. Mrs. Lockwood said their car was still in the driveway, where are they then?" Stefan then started panicking, Erin was involved.

The SUV pulled up next to an old house. The man in back carried the twins in, and Elena whimpered, "No, please." He then dropped both of them on a sofa in another room. Elena looked over to her sister who was still unconscious, and she said, " What do you want?" The man shushed her, and she added, "Please, my sister and I are hurt." The man undid the ropes that bound their hands and feet and flashed his fangs, "I know, just a taste." He then went in to bite Erin, and Elena screamed, "No!"

Then, some lady snapped, "Trevor! Control yourself." The man got away from Erin and spoke, "Buzz kill." The woman marveled at Erin and Elena and said, "You two look just like her, your sister even more." She pointed to Erin, and Elena protested, "But we're not. Please whatever you-"The woman then interrupted her and growled, "Be quiet."

Elena then got up from the couch and argued, "But neither of us are Katherine. My name is Elena Gilbert, and that's my sister Erin. You don't have to do this." "I know who you are. I said be quiet." She started to raise her voice. "What do you want?" Elena asked in a small voice, and the woman just back handed her, sending her flying and leaving her unconscious. "I want you to be quiet." She told.

Stefan called his brother, and Damon showed up to the school. "This has Katherine written all over it." Stefan stated. "Katherine's in the tomb, trust me, I'm the one who shut her in." Damon drawled, and Stefan got in his brother's face. "Did you?" He questioned. "Did I what, Stefan?" Damon asked. "Well, I know the hold that Katherine has on you." Stefan stated. "Katherine's in the tomb, end of story." Damon snapped, and added, "But she did say something to me right before I shut her in. I thought she was lying."

This got Stefan's attention, "What'd she say?" "Erin and Elena are in danger, or one of them is." Damon told his brother. "What, and you didn't think to ask her to elaborate?" Stefan asked, mad that his brother didn't do anything. "Everything she says is a lie! How am I supposed to know that she would start spouting out the truth?" Damon defended himself.

"We have to go talk to her." Stefan told, and Damon disagreed. "No, no. I'll tell you how that's gonna go. We're gonna ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate a release that we're gonna be dumb enough to give her, and then she's gonna get out and kill us. That's exactly what she wants."

"I don't really care." Stefan started walking away from his brother to find Bonnie. "It's a bad idea, Stefan." Damon scolded his brother, but Stefan pointed at Damon and argued, "It's Erin." Stefan was done pretending that he didn't love her, he would tell her soon.

Erin woke up and saw Elena beginning to stir. She heard voices from the room above. "How's the girls?" A woman asked. "Still passed out." A man answered. "You didn't touch her, did you? The one with the curly hair that looks exactly like her?" The woman asked, and the man scoffed, "Give me some credit." Erin poked Elena and nodded for her to follow, and the two carefully walked up the stairs to eavesdrop.

"So you called him?" The man asked, and the woman declined, "No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works." "Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?" The man demanded, and the woman said, "They say he got it." "Wonderful, and?" The man questioned. "And that's it, Trevor. He either got it or didn't. We just have to wait." She explained.

"Look, it's not too late. We can leave them here, we don't have to go through with this." The man, Trevor, sounded scared. "I'm sick of running." You could hear the frustration in her voice as she spoke. "Yeah? Well running keeps us from dying." Trevor argued. "Elijah's old school, if he accepts our deal, we're free."

Suddenly, Elena stepped on a creaking board and gave away the twin's location. "You two!" The woman snapped, making the girls' heads snap up. "There's nothing around here for miles. If you think you're getting out of this house, you're tragically wrong, understand?" She threatened. Erin spoke up, "Who's Elijah?" The woman looked at her and said sternly, "You're worst nightmare." That comment made Elena scared and Erin snorted as the woman brushed past them.

"Wow, scary." Erin said sarcastically.

"I can't undo the tomb spell, Stefan even if I wanted too. It took both me and my Grams to do it the first time." Bonnie explained. "But I can open the door, right? I can talk to her?" Stefan questioned. "Yeah, but Damon's right she's not going to tell you anything. Not without something in return." The witch argued, and Stefan sighed, "But, Bonnie I have to do something. I have no idea who has Erin and Elena, and I have no idea where they are."

Bonnie looked at him hesitantly, "What if there was another way to find her?" Bonnie told Stefan to fetch Jeremy and get a private space for her to do a spell. Jeremy laid out a map on one of the desks with a candle next to it. "How does this work?" He asked.

"I'll use your blood to draw energy for the tracking spell. You're blood related, it'll make the connection stronger." She explained. Stefan then walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "Ok, Alaric said we have to clear out of here in 10 minutes. I got weapons, he stocked me up." He told them as Bonnie got prepared for the spell.

Bonnie then took the knife and cut Jeremy's palm. As the blood dripped onto the map, Stefan had to look away in discomfort. Bonnie started chanting in her head, and the blood moved to a town 300 miles away. Bonnie pointed to the spot and said, "There. They are there." "That's 300 miles away." Jeremy commented.

"No, Bonnie we need a more exact location than that." Stefan pleaded. "That's as close as I can get." She said, but Jeremy added. "We can map it, aerial view, it'll show us what's around there, help us narrow down the area." Stefan nodded, "Perfect, call me with what you find." He started to walk away, but Jeremy protested, "Wait no, I'm coming with you." "No, Jeremy, you're not." Stefan told him. "I'm not gonna just sit here, what if they're hurt? Or worse what if they're-" Jeremy started, but Stefan stated, "No, Jeremy they're not. You two go back to your house just in case, I'm gonna call you the minute I find it."

"Wait, you can't go there alone." Jeremy stopped when Damon came through the door. "He's not. Let's go." Damon stated. "You're coming with me?" Stefan asked. "It's Erin." Damon repeated what Stefan said to him.

Stefan and Damon were in the car for a while, "How much further is it?" Stefan asked, and his brother answered, "About 80 miles." "Who do you think took them?" Stefan questioned. Damon kept his eyes on the road and replied, "Someone from Katherine's past, Erin did figure out that she was running from someone. Maybe they got the wrong girl. But that doesn't explain why Elena was taken as well, whatever."

"Thank you, for helping me." Stefan said and Damon groaned, "Can we not do the whole 'road trip bonding' thing. The cliché of it all makes me itch." "Oh, c'mon Damon, we both know that you being in this car has nothing to do with me anyways." Stefan responded.

Damon raised his eyebrows, "And the elephant in the room lets out a mighty roar." "It doesn't have to be an elephant. You know, let's talk about it." Stefan urged him. "There's nothing to talk about." Damon denied, but Stefan saw right through it.

"That's not true, sure there is. Get it out, I mean are you in this car because you want to help your little brother save the girl that he loves, or is it because you love her too?" Stefan asked and looked at his brother for his reaction. Damon just smirked and Stefan added, "C'mon, express yourself. I happen to like road trip bonding."

"Keep it up, Stefan. I could step out of helping as easy as I stepped in." Damon drawled, and Stefan argued, "Nope, that's the beauty of it, you can't."

The woman turned on a lamp in the study. "Why are we here?" Elena asked with Erin at her side. "You keep asking these questions like I'm going to answer them." She replied. "Why won't you?" Erin countered. "That's another one." The woman answered. "Look, you got us. Okay, it's not like we can go anywhere, the least you can do is tell us what you want with us." Erin spoke.

"I personally want nothing, I'm just a delivery service." She told, and Erin picked up on the conversation. "Delivery to who? Elijah?" Erin asked. The woman chuckled, "Two points to the eavesdropper." "Who is he? Is he a vampire?" Elena questioned the vampire, and she uttered, "One of the vampires, The Originals."

Erin thought they sounded super important, _like the first vampires? _"What do you mean, The Originals?" Elena asked. "Again with the questions, haven't the Salvatores been teaching you vampire history?" The woman asked as she looked through a book. "You know Stefan and Damon?" Erin questioned. "I know of them. A hundred years back, a friend tried to set me up with Stefan, said he was one of the good ones. I'm more of a sucker for the bad boys, though, but I digress." She told them.

"Who are The Originals?" Elena repeated, trying to get back on track. "Trevor and I have been running for over 500 years, we're tired. We want it over, so we're using one of you to get ourselves out of an old mess." She explained, which made the girls look at each other. "One of us? But why one of us?" Erin asked with a desperate tone.

"Because one of you is a Petrova doppelgänger, the other is just a twin. Elijah will be able to figure it out when he gets here, apparently there is a certain aura around her, like the one around the original. The doppelgänger is the key to breaking the curse." She explained. "Curse… the sun and the moon curse?" Erin asked, confusion filling her. The woman nodded at her, "So you do know your history." "What do you mean one of us is the key? The moonstone is what breaks the curse." Erin stated. "No, the moonstone is what binds the curse, sacrifice is what breaks it." She told. "Sacrifice?" Elena questioned. "The blood of the doppelgänger. One of you is the doppelgänger. Which means in order to break the curse, one of you is the one that has to die." She said.

"Tell us more." Elena demanded, and Trevor came up behind Erin and played with her hair, " Captivity has made her pushy, eh? What do you want to know, dopplicious?" "Who are you running from?" Erin asked and faced Trevor. "The Originals." Trevor answered, and Elena snapped, "Yeah, she said that, what does that mean?"

Trevor kicked a book and responded, "The first family, the Old World. Rose and I pissed them off. Correction, I pissed them off, Rose had my back, and for over half a millennium they wanted us dead." "What did you do?" Erin asked, Trevor looked at Rose to give the girls the answer. "He made the same mistake countless others did, he trusted Katerina Petrova." "Katherine." Erin stated, and Rose hummed in response.

"The one and only, the first Petrova doppelgänger." Rose walked behind the girls, and Trevor explained more. "I helped her escape her fate and now I've, I'm sorry, we've been marked ever since." "Which is why we're not going to make the same mistake again." Rose called over to Trevor who looked at Erin oddly. Then, both of the vampires walked out, leaving the twins alone.

The girls walked back to where they were seated on the couch before and talked. "Erin, I need to tell you something. One of us is probably going to be sacrificed, so I think now is the best time to get things off my chest." Elena started, making Erin nod confusedly.

"Stefan loves you. I've known this for so long, and I know that a part of you likes him. Be with Stefan, he makes you happy. I got greedy when Stefan came to town, and I took him even though you're the one that needed somebody the most. You still haven't gotten over mom and dad, and I am so sorry. I got caught up in all of the supernatural drama, and I liked it. I liked the feeling of danger at first, but now I don't want it in my life. I want to be normal, with a normal life, and I want to have a future with a husband and kids. Just do what makes you happy." Elena finished off her speech, and Erin hugged her.

Erin heard a crinkling under her bottom, so she got up and saw a piece of crinkled paper. She opened it up and read a note from Bonnie that said.

_Stefan and Damon are coming for you two._

_-B_

Erin showed Elena who smiled and sighed in relief. Erin crinkled the paper back up and held it like a lifeline.

Meanwhile, Damon and Stefan were nearing the location. "We're getting close, Jeremy said that there was an access road right by mile marker 6." Stefan stated. Damon nodded and reached behind him, grabbing a blood bag. When Damon started sipping it, he saw Stefan eyeing it and said, "You know, if you want some just ask."

"I want some." Stefan said. "Aww, that's so sweet! You want to be all big and strong to save your girl, don't worry I got your back, you'll be fine." Damon responded. "I'm not joking. I've been drinking a little bit every day. I'm slowly increasing my intake and building up my strength." Stefan then took the blood bag from Damon and sipped it.

"Does Erin know you're drinking blood?" Damon asked. Stefan looked at his brother and decided to tell the truth, "I've been drinking hers." Damon looked hurt, but he covered it up by saying, "How romantic." "Since we're road trip bonding, remember the day where all you would live for was blood? You were the guy who would rip someone apart just for the fun of it." Damon said, and Stefan replied, "You mean when I was more like you." "Yes Stefan, exactly! Back to when you put blood into me, so I would be a big bad vampire. I wonder if Erin would be so quick to open her veins to that guy." Damon exclaimed.

"Well, she's friends with you, isn't she?" Stefan sassed his brother who just replied, "By the way what happened to that guy, he was a hoot." Damon took another sip of the blood as his brother said, "I guess he just found something else to live for."

Rose picked up things from the ground when Trevor rushed down, "He's here. This was a mistake." "No, I told you I would get us out of this, you have to trust me." She told him. "No! He wants me dead, Rose!" Trevor argued. "He wants one of them more!" Rose countered and pointed at the twins. "I can't do this. You give her to him, he'll have mercy on you, but I need to get out of here." Trevor said.

"Hey! What are we?" Rose asked, and Trevor answered, "We're family. Forever." The two looked at each other and Rose nodded. This made the twins look at each other, and the girls linked hands. Erin was frantic, it was either her or her sister, and she knew who she would choose. She needed to protect her sister, even if it was the last thing she did. When there was a knock on the door, they both started shaking. "You're scared." Erin stated, seeing the looks on their faces. "Stay here with them, and don't make a sound." Rose said and ran up the stairs.

Erin paced the floor with the note in her hand. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of the possibilities. She heard footsteps from the hall, and some tears made their way down her cheeks. Elena just seemed rattled, Erin was her source of courage, but she was scared.

Elijah walked into the room and saw Elena on the couch. Elena stood up with wide eyes, which made Erin turn around. Elijah stood there, shocked, as he locked eyes with Erin. Elena grabbed onto the back of Erin's shirt as Elijah sped right in front of them, making Erin gasp. Elijah inched his face towards Erin's and smelled her neck. "Human, both of them. It's impossible." He muttered, and looked into her eyes.

"Why are there two?" Elijah asked, and Rose answered, "One of them is the real doppelgänger, the other is her twin. We didn't know which one was which." "Now, now, don't cry." Elijah wiped the tears off of Erin's face and when he saw the sudden fire in her eyes, he knew it was her. He smirked, "Hello there."

Damon and Stefan got out of the car, and Damon spoke, "The house should be just beyond those trees. Wait, now I've got a little bit more experience than you do with this sort of thing." "So? What's your point?" Stefan snapped, wanting to just go inside the house and retrieve the girl he loved. "My point is the person who has Erin and Elena is probably the person who was after Katherine in 1864 and before that." Damon pointed out. "And?" Stefan asked impatiently. "And that puts them at 500 years and strong. You sure you want to do this?"

Stefan shrugged and replied, "Yeah I'm certain I want to do it." "Because if we go in that house, there's a chance we may not come back out." Damon told him. "Alright then I won't come out." Stefan stated. "So noble, Stefan." Damon uttered, and Stefan scoffed, "I can't think of a better reason to die. But, if you want to stay here, I'll totally understand." Stefan started to walk away, and then Damon thought of Erin's scared face, and he walked behind his little brother.

Elijah pointed to Erin and said, "You. You're my doppelgänger, now we have a long journey ahead of us. We should be going." Elena clutched onto her sister's arm, looked to Rose and pleaded, "Please, don't let him take her." "One last piece of business, and then we're done." Elijah stated and he walked to Trevor. "I've waited so long for this day, Elijah. I'm truly very sorry."

"You're apology is not necessary." Elijah stated. "Yes, yes it is. You trusted me with Katerina, and I failed you." Trevor spoke, and Elijah remained calm, "Yes, you are the guilty one. Rose aided you because she was loyal to you, that I honor. Where was your loyalty?" "Elijah, I beg your forgiveness." Trevor pleaded. "So granted." Elijah stated, and Trevor smiled. Elijah then proceeded to smack Trevor's head off with his hand.

Erin put her hand over her mouth, and Elena gasped. Elijah scolded Rose before holding his hand out for Erin. Erin started to walk over to him, but Elena clutched onto her sister's arm. "What about the moonstone!" Elena yelled, not wanting her sister to go. "Elena!" Erin hissed at her sister. "What do you know about the moonstone?" Elijah asked calmly even though he just wanted to take his doppelgänger and leave.

"I know that you need it and I know where it is." Elena stuttered. Elijah looked at her to continue, and Elena said, "I can help you get it." "Tell me where it is." Elijah spoke, and Erin shook her head and stated, "It doesn't work that way." Elijah smirked, amused at them. The bond of family is sacred. "Are you negotiating with me?" Elijah asked and looked at Rose who said, "It's the first I've heard of it."

Elijah tried compelling Elena when he noticed her necklace. "What is that vervain doing around your neck?" He then grew angry and tried grabbing her, but then Erin cried out, "I'll tell you, just don't touch her." Elijah then gazed at Erin who locked eyes with him, "The moonstone is in the tomb underneath the church ruins." "What is it doing there?" He asked her, and she replied, "It's with Katherine." "Interesting," He stated before hearing a crash coming from the other room.

"What is that?" He asked. "I don't know." Rose responded. "Who else is in this house?" He asked again, and she pressed, "I don't know." Elijah then grabbed Erin's hand and Elena's arm and dragged them with him. "Move." He ordered Rose. They made their way into the entrance way of the house. Suddenly Stefan ran past them at super speed, they turned to look, then Damon did, Stefan ran back up the stairs and Elijah threw Elena towards Rose who caught her, but he still kept a firm hold on Erin. "Rose." Elijah growled and Rose responded, "I don't know who it is." Erin and Elena knew that it was the Salvatore brothers coming to their rescue.

"Up here." Stefan's voice uttered, and Elijah pulled Erin with him to the top of the stairs. "Down here." Damon's voice taunted. All of a sudden, a stake was shot into the hand Elijah wasn't holding Erin's with. He quickly pulled it out and kept a firm grip on Erin. Elijah looked down the stairs to find the no one was there, not Rose, and not Elena. He really didn't care.

"Excuse me, to whom it may concern. You're making a grave mistake if you think that you can beat me, you can't. Now, I have the girl I need, you hear that?" Elijah trudged down the stairs without Erin, who saw Stefan in the corner of her eye. She silently made her way up a few stairs and held onto the grenade Stefan handed to her. Elijah distractedly broke a wooden coat rack and made it into a stake.

"I repeat you cannot beat me. Now, if you try to get her from me, heads will roll. Do we understand each other?" Elijah spoke, and Erin begged, "I'll go with you, just please don't hurt my friends. They were just trying to help me out." Elijah turned to look at her, and then he flashed right in front of her, "What game are you playing with me?" She then pulled the pin out of the grenade and threw it at Elijah.

He growled as his skin began to burn but he healed very quickly, stepping forward towards her. Stefan jumped out and began to shoot him with wooden bullets. When the younger vampire realized it was doing nothing he pounced on him, knocking them both down the stairs. Elijah quickly got up and was ready to kill Stefan when Damon staked him with the coat rack.

Rose then caught Damon's eye, but she flashed away. Damon was going to go after her, but Erin's voice stopped him. "Just let her go." She said, and he looked up to the top of the stairs. She smiled down at him, and she and Elena ran down the stairs. Erin was going to run and hug Damon, but Stefan stepped out. "Hey, come here. You hurt? You okay?" Erin smiled and nodded and embraced him.

Seeing the disappointed look on Damon's face, Elena threw him an understanding look and spoke up, "Thank you Stefan." Stefan and Erin pulled away from each other and Stefan smiled. Erin then used her chance to hug Damon, it was quick and she said, "Thank you, both of you. But, we all need to talk on the drive home."

They did just that, and Erin and Elena told the brothers about the sacrifice. The twins got dropped off at home, seeing as they wanted to be with Jeremy. Erin opened the door to the Gilbert house, and she heard Jeremy call her name. She told Elena to go up first, and she did. Erin slowly made her way up the stairs to see Elena and Jeremy hugging, and Bonnie watching from the sidelines. "We got your message." Erin spoke, and Jeremy and Bonnie's heads snapped up.

Jeremy then practically threw Elena into Bonnie and tightly embraced Erin, spinning her around. "You okay? I was worried so much, I thought you guys were goners and we would never have another movie night together. You're my best friend, Erin, I don't say it often enough." Jeremy babbled, and Erin laughed as Elena playfully said, "And what am I, chopped liver?"

Bonnie told Elena, "You're my best friend." We all laughed, and they just watched Jeremy and I hug it out.

Damon poured himself some bourbon and skulked it down. He heard Stefan's footsteps coming towards him, "Where's Erin?" "She's home." Stefan answered, and Damon shot back, "And you're here, why?" Stefan replied, "Because she wanted to be with Jeremy." Damon handed his brother a glass, and he took it. "Listen, what Rose told Erin and Elena about the curse-" "I know, we'll keep her safe."

"You know the only way we're gonna be able to do that is if we're not fighting each other. We let Katherine come between us, and if we do the same with Erin, we're not gonna be able to protect her." Stefan said. Damon looked at his brother and spoke, "Yes, Stefan. Heard it all before." Damon started to walk away, but his brother's voice stopped him.

"I'm sorry." Stefan apologized. "For what?" Damon asked, frustrated. "For being the guy that made you turn 145 years ago." "Enough, Stefan. It's late, no need to rehash that." Damon shrugged it off. "You know, I've never said it out loud. I just need to say it, and you need to hear it. I'm sorry, I guess I just needed my brother." Stefan told him.

Erin walked out of her bathroom to find Damon sitting on her window seat, "Cute pj's." Erin smiled and sighed, "I'm tired, Damon." He then stood up from the window seat walked over to her. "I just have to say something." Damon told her, and Erin looked at him curiously. "Why are you acting weird?" She asked him. "Because what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I have ever said in my life." Damon muttered.

"Damon, don't go there." She pleaded, but he shrugged it off. "I just have to say it once, you just have to hear it. I love you, Erin, and it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you. Why you can't know this, I don't deserve you, but my brother does." Damon then kissed Erin with as much emotion as he could muster. Erin kissed back, but she could sense that there was something else going on. Damon looked into Erin's eyes and unclasped the vervain bracelet that rested on her wrist.

Damon cupped her cheek and looked her in the eyes, "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this, but you do." Erin's mind went blank for a second before she opened her eyes and found herself standing in her bedroom all alone with her bracelet on her wrist.


	9. Katerina

I knock on the Boarding House door, and it is quickly answered by Damon. He smiled at me and greeted, "Hello Erin." "Is Stefan here? He called…said it was important." I explained, and Damon ushered me into the house where I saw Stefan.

"Hey," Stefan said, and I adjusted my bag and tried not to look into his eyes. "What is this about?" I asked. Stefan stepped aside, and I could clearly see Rose walking towards me. "You." I stated and looked at Stefan for an explanation.

"Ok, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not. That's the thing with all this vampire crap, but Klaus I know is real." She started, and I questioned, "Klaus? Who is he?"

"One of the Originals, he's a legend." Damon stated, and Stefan added, "From one of the first generations of vampires." "Like Elijah?" I asked, and Rose argued, "No. Elijah is like the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier, Klaus is the real deal."

"Klaus is known to be the oldest." Stefan informed me, and I put up a hand to stop them all from speaking as I processed everything. "So you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?"

Both Stefan and Rose replied with a yes and no at the same time. I gave them a questioning look as Damon explained, "What they're saying us that if what she's saying is true-" "Which it is." Rose interrupted. "And you're not just saying this so we don't kill you." Damon continued, and Rose said, "Which I'm not." "Then we're looking at a solid maybe." He finished.

Stefan then moved over to the couch next to me and spoke, "Look, Elijah's dead, alright. So no one else even knows that you exist." Rose interrupted him and said, "Not that you know of." Damon cut, "That's not helping."

"Look, I've never met anyone who's laid eyes on him. We're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't even know if he's real, for all we know he could just be some stupid bedtime story." Stefan said, and this frustrated Rose. "He's real, and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot."

""I just got called an idiot." I jokingly said to Stefan, trying to lighten the mood. Stefan cracked a smile and Damon said sarcastically, "Alright, we're shaking. You've made your point." I then got up, and an idea hit me.

Stefan stopped my silent musings as he asked, "Where are you going?" I sighed and lied, "To school, I'm late." Stefan got up from the couch, "Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you." I decided that I have to be cross with him if this was going to work, "That's okay, I know where it is."

* * *

I then walked out of the Boarding House and called Caroline on the way home to grab some things. I met her by my car at the edge of the woods. "Tell everyone I wasn't feeling well, and that I went home from school." I informed her and explained what my plan was.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. I'm a terrible liar." Caroline muttered, and I added, "Keep Stefan busy, I don't want him knowing what I'm up to. I already texted Elena and told her to keep her mouth shut about this." "And I'm even worse at duplicity and you know this!" Caroline exclaimed, and I rolled my eyes as the entrance to the tomb approached us.

"You managed to keep Elena occupied when Katherine paid Stefan a visit." I offered. "Yeah, because she threatened me. Not that you should use that as a tactic it's- Stefan's gonna see right through me!" She babbled. "Caroline, as my friend, do you promise?" I pleaded with her and she rolled her eyes.

"You always break out the girlfriend code!" She uttered, and I smirked as she promised. As we walked down the steps, Caroline asked, "Why don't you want Stefan to know?" "Because he would never be okay with me doing this." I answered her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Caroline questioned me as she looked at the door. "Yes, she's the only one who knows the truth about Klaus. The only one who can tell me how to stop him." "But, you're asking for the truth from someone who has never given it." Caroline argued, and I gave her a look.

"I can't just sit back here and wait, I have to know, Caroline." I told her, and she sighed and took the door off of the tomb. I yelled Katherine's name into the tomb, and then I turned to Caroline, "I'll be okay from here."

Just as Caroline was going to say something, footsteps interrupted her and Katherine appeared. "Hello, Erin." Katherine said hoarsely. "Come to watch me wither away? Goodbye Caroline." She stated, and I told Care, "As long as I stay behind the door, she can't hurt me. Please." She hesitantly walked away, and I finally got my shot at the truth.

I put the bag down as she asked, "Does Stefan know you're here? What about Damon, have you two admitted your feelings yet?" I ignored her questions and stated, "I brought you some things." "You came to bribe me? What is it that you want?" She questioned me as I threw some clothes down in front of her.

"I want you to tell me about Klaus." I spoke, and she smiled, "Huh, you've been busy." I pulled out the book from the basket and showed it to her, "I also brought you this, it's your family history. It says in here that the family line ended with you, obviously that's not true." "You think that if you brought some old family keepsake that I'd open up." She sneered.

I pulled out the bottle and showed it to her, "I also brought you this." She ran into the door, and when she couldn't get out I smirked, "You don't look so good, Kat. How long does it take before your body shuts down, 10, 20 years? It must be painful to desiccate and mummify, I can't even imagine."

Katherine sat down on the tomb floor while I poured a bit of blood into a small cup. I slid it to her using a stick. She shot down the blood when it reached her side. "You have the Petrova fire." She stated. "More blood?" I taunted her, and she pushed the cup towards me.

"A girl on a mission. So, you're just here for information on Klaus even though you hate my guts." She commented, and I replied, "I don't hate you, Katherine. I don't necessarily like you either, but you're still family. No one is fully evil. There was a reason you were running from Klaus for so long, and I want to know what it is. And I'm pretty sure that whatever it is has driven you to become the person in front of me."

"It's a long story, Klaus and I. It goes all the way back to England 1492 after I left Bulgaria, or was thrown out." She started telling her story as a poured and pushed more blood towards her. "Thrown out?" I asked and she explained, "My family, your true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. I had a baby out of wedlock, the shame."

The gears in my brain started turning when I thought of when Elijah said it was impossible that I was alive. "It was kept secret." I stated. Katherine hummed in agreement and added, "My baby was given away. I was banished to England, and I had to learn to adjust. So, I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman names Klaus. I was taken with him at first until I found out what he was, and what he wanted. Then, I ran like hell."

* * *

I stood up and asked, "What did Klaus want?" "The same thing that he'll want from you, he wants to break the curse." She told me. "By sacrificing the Petrova doppelgänger." I said. "He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body."

I sat back down and gave her more blood. "What does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?" I questioned as she gulped the blood down. "It's really tedious, but the curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their spells. The doppelgänger was created as a way to undo the spell, so when the doppelgänger reappeared, the curse can be broken."

"So you ran, before he killed you." I said, trying to get every piece of information that I possibly could. "Something like that." Katherine muttered and told me the story. "So Rose never brought you back to Klaus, did she?" I asked. "No, and not because she had a change of heart." Katherine spoke.

"You killed yourself." I gasped, and she shrugged, "Klaus needed a human doppleganger, as a vampire I was of no use to him." "But it didn't work, and you didn't really escape, you've been running from him ever since." I stated confusedly, and she rolled her eyes, "I underestimated his spirit for vengeance. Living out of a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over a silly little rock."

I knew she was right, but I couldn't run. "What's wrong, afraid I'm right? You don't wanna die? There's another way out." She taunted me as she cut herself. I watched the wound heal itself up, and almost slapped myself at thinking of turning.

Katherine scoffed and spoke, "I made the other choice." She then told me of how she turned. "Rose and Trevor spent 500 years running because you used them. Trevor just got killed!" I exclaimed, and she just drawled, "Never thought he would have lasted that long."

"You don't even care that you ruined their lives." I muttered, appalled at my ancestor. She snapped her gaze to me, "I was looking out for myself, Erin, I will always look out for myself. If you were smart, you would do the same."

* * *

As Katherine was looking through her family history, I stood up and started pacing. "So how much of your little story is actually true?" I asked. "I have no reason to lie, Erin. I can't really do anything except sit here and read and rot." She drawled, and I said, "So assuming this was even partially true, that's why you came back, isn't it? You wanted to be the one to hand me over to Klaus."

She shut her book and turned to me, "500 years on the run, I figured he'd be willing to strike a deal." "So you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone." I stated, and she smiled, "Right again." "What else is needed to break the curse?" I snapped. "I always knew you were smart, Elena's the weaker link if I do say so myself."

I ignored what she was saying and continued, "It's not just me or the stone, is it? Otherwise there would be no reason to trigger Tyler's werewolf curse." "Witches and their spells, so many ingredients, so many people to sacrifice." Katherine said vaguely, but I still went on, "So you need a werewolf."

"Believe it or not, they're hard to come by." Katherine said, and I demanded, "What else?" I could see that as I got the information, Katherine stood up straighter. "A witch to do the spell, mine bailed, but little Bonnie will do just fine." "what else?"

"A vampire." She stated, and realization dawned on me, "Caroline." Katherine shrugged, "It could have been anyone I suppose, but I like the poetry of Caroline." I shook my head and responded, "So you were just going to hand us all over to be killed."

"I didn't want you to be killed, I hoped that Elena would be the one needed for the sacrifice. But, I guess life works that way, you never get what you want. Better you die than I." Katherine spoke, and backed away into the tomb. I waited for her to come out, but she didn't. I tried to process everything, but I gave up and started to pack up the things I brought. "Erin." I looked at the stairs to find Stefan there. I inwardly groaned and knew I was in trouble.

"Stefan, what are you doing here?" I asked him, and he responded, "I could ask you the same question." I sighed, "Caroline told you." "No, she kept your secret. But, it didn't take me long to figure out what was so important that you had to keep it from me." He said.

I shrugged and replied, "I knew that you would stop me." Stefan pointed to the tomb and spoke, "Listen, whatever she said to you is a lie. Do not listen to her, she is a liar." I snapped at him, "What if she isn't? You didn't hear what she said."

Stefan shook his head and said softly, "You don't have to worry, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." "That's the problem, Stefan. You won't, but you'll die trying, how is that better?" I asked. Stefan looked at a loss for words as Katherine interrupted, "There's nothing you can do, Stefan. I haven't even told you the best part of the story."

Katherine then proceeded to tell us how Klaus slaughtered her family. "He killed them, my entire family just to get back at me for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance. On your friends, your family, on everyone that you've ever loved."

Stefan then grabbed me by the shoulders and made me look him in the eye, "No, don't listen to her, okay?" Katherine scoffed, "Always the protector, even you must realize that she's doomed. There's nothing you can do to stop it, unless you have this." She then showed us the moonstone, and Stefan spoke, "There it is, it's the ultimate lie isn't it? You spun this whole thing, so we would have to get the moonstone from you."

Katherine looked hurt for a second but said, "I didn't spin anything, Stefan, it's the truth." "No, let me guess, you want to trade that stone for your freedom. You manipulative psychotic bitch." Stefan spoke angrily, and I was surprised at his tone. I had never heard him talk like that.

"My freedom? That's where you're wrong, Stefan. I don't want my freedom because when Klaus comes to kill us all, and he will. I'll be in the tomb where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town." She argued and walked away, and Stefan turned to look at me.

* * *

Stefan dropped me off at my house and walked me to the door. "Erin." He spoke, and I argued, "I can't talk about it, Stefan." "You have to, don't shut me out." He pleaded, and I took my key out of the door and turned my back to him. I started crying and Stefan said, "Erin, please."

I faced him and put my hand up, silencing him. "I wanted to know the truth, Stefan, and I got it. It's not just me that's in danger, it's Caroline and Tyler and Bonnie. They're all part of breaking the curse. I can't blame anyone else anymore. Because it's not that you came into town, or that you dated Elena. That's not why everyone that I love is in danger, it's because of me, everything is because of me."

Stefan pulled me into his arms and I sobbed onto his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck. I could feel Stefan kiss my head and stroke my hair. I felt comfort in Stefan's arms, and I knew that I needed to act on whatever I was feeling for him sooner rather than later.


	10. The Sacrifice

I woke up as I heard voices coming from the hallway. I groaned and got up, wondering who would be up at this hour. Walking onto the scene, I saw Alaric offer a bowl of ice cream to Elena with Jenna embarassed. I went up to them and took the bowl exclaiming, "Ohh Chunky Monkey! My favorite!"

Elena then commented, "I'm not hungry, like at all, but I guess Erin is." I just gave her my 'I'm innocent' look and shrugged. Alaric then looked at us and sheepishly smiled, "Well I'm naked, so I'm gonna go." He then walked off, but not before taking my ice cream. _Hey! I was going to finish that!_

Elena and I then turned to leave as Jenna apologized, "I'm really really sorry about that." Elena and I waved if off, and I smirked at her. "It's okay, Jenna, don't worry about it." Elena said.

"I know that he's been staying over a lot. Are you sure it's okay?" Jenna asked, and I answered and nodded, "It seems like things are good." Aunt Jenna smiled and told, "They're extremely good." My twin and I laughed and I quipped, "Then we're extremely okay with it."

I then shuffled back into my room, climbed under the covers of my bed, and fell back asleep.

In the morning, right as I got out of the shower, Elena called up the stairs, "Erin! Get your lazy butt down here!" I groaned and complied, getting changed and hurrying downstairs. I didn't have time to curl my hair, so I just let it go down straight like Elena's. "What?" I demanded, and then I looked up to see Damon and Stefan hanging out in my kitchen.

"And again I say what? You're kind of messing with my super lazy mood today." I told them, causing them both to give me an amused smile. "We went to see Katherine." Damon explained, and I raised an eyebrow. They then told me what went down with Katherine.

"You don't believe her, do you?" I questioned them, and Damon answered, "Of course not, we just want the moonstone." "According to Rose's friend, Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break." Stefan added while Damon spoke, "No spell, no doppelgänger sacrifice, ergo you live."

"How do you destroy it?" Elena asked, and I was mulling through my own thoughts while they were talking. "By releasing it from the moonstone." Stefan informed us. Elena looked at me for a second and knew that I wasn't going to say anything, so she asked, "How do you even know if this is going to work?"

"Because we have a crafty witch on our side." Damon said, and Elena concluded, "So, you've discussed it with Bonnie." "She agreed to do anything she could to help us." Stefan spoke, and Elena made a valid point, "It's Katherine who has the moonstone, she's not going to give it to you."

"We're gonna get it from her." Stefan argued, and Damon explained, "Well, what he means to say is that we're going to pry it from her cold dead hands if we have to." "Bonnie just has to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to return it."

"Wow, it sounds like you guys have it all planned out." Elena said, and Damon replied, "Yup, we're awesome." I decided to speak my thoughts, well some of them. "Except for one thing," I spoke, and all their gazes locked on me as I continued, "I don't want you to do it."

They all looked at each other, and Elena gave me a knowing look. I knew that she would do the same thing if she was in my position. "What are you talking about, Erin. We don't have a choice." Stefan told me, and I argued, "What about Klaus?"

Stefan stuttered a bit before answering, "We'll find him after we get the moonstone." "Is that before or after he kills everyone that I care about including the three of you." I pointed at my sister and the two vampire brothers in the room when I said this.

"Erin, if we can despell the moonstone, we can save your life." Stefan spoke, and I shook my head, "I know, everyone keeps saying that." I got up from the table and walked away, leaving the two vampires dumbstruck.

I texted Elena and told her to meet me at the Boarding House in 10 minutes, and she did. I filled her into what I was planning, or planning to tell Rose anyways. We walked in without knocking, as per usual. I shut the door behind us, and Rose came down the stairs in just a robe. "It's not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning." She spoke, but stopped when she looked up at us. "Woah, sorry I thought you were…nevermind."

Elena tensed, and I snorted at the awkward situation. Of course, I felt a pang at my heart that Rose slept with Damon, but I ignored it while Elena stood awkwardly next to me, "I uh sorry I uh.." "There's no one else here." Rose said, interrupting Elena's rambling.

"Actually, we came to talk to you." I told her, and she stated, "Well, then I better get dressed." Rose smiled as she walked back up the stairs. When she came down, in a fabulous outfit by the way, I told her the plan. "It's a bad idea." She said.

"No it's not, and from what Stefan told me, your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it." I argued, and Rose defended herself, "Because someone blew up a coffee shop with us in it."

"There's more to learn." Elena stated, and looked at Rose with determination. "We just have to find a way to learn it." I added, making Rose look at me. "Why are you coming to me with this?" "Because you owe us, the both of us. One word from one of us, and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping us."

"Or it's because you know they wouldn't want you doing this, and that the moonstone gave you an excuse to get away." Rose deciphered. "We're having a disagreement, okay? They're willing to risk everyone that I love, and I'm not." I told her sharply.

Rose shook her head, "They're just trying to protect you." And then Elena countered, "And you've proven that you couldn't care less if she was protected or not." I then added, "So, we're back to you taking us to Slater."

Rose sank into the couch next to me, "What is it you want to achieve by this?" I dodged her question by asking, "How would you be able to walk during the daylight?" Rose then spoke, "I've been a slave to the shadows for 500 years, what do you think?" Then, Elena told, "I think that we know a witch who would do anything to help if you're willing to make a deal."

The three of us then drove to Richmond and arrived at Slater's apartment. Rose then knocked on the door and spoke, "Slater, it's Rose, open up." When there was nothing in return, Rose turned to us and said, "He's not home, sorry."

I then put up a hand to stop her and snapped, "No, we didn't come all the way out here for nothing." Rose then sighed and threw open the doors with her vampire strength. "After you." She deadpanned and Elena and I walked into the room.

Rose called for Slater and looked around until she spoke, "I don't think he's going to be much help." Elena and I ran over to where she was looking and found ,who I assumed to be Slater, dead on the ground.

I ran a hand through my straight hair and sighed. Seeing a computer, Elena and I walked over to it and started to search. "It looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information." Elena concluded, and Rose agreed. "Yeah, probably to stop him from helping someone like us. The guy was a vampire almanac, knowing too much information just bit him in the ass."

Elena stared at a picture while Rose opened the curtains. Seeing our reaction, Rose explained, "Tempered glass, UV Rays can't penetrate. I used to just come her e and watch the day." While Rose just stared at the people in the street, I spoke, "I'm sorry about Slater."

Rose then turned to Elena who was still holding the picture and asked, "Any luck?" Elena stopped and tried to get into the computer, but she couldn't. "It's password protected, we can't get in." I explained to her, and then we all heard a noise come from a closet.

Rose told us to stay where she was, and we did. She then opened the closet carefully, and then suddenly the woman from the picture Elena was looking at jumped into Rose's arms and wept.

I decided to make some tea for us all while Rose talked to Alice. Rose then walked over to Elena and I in the kitchen, "She found him a few minutes before we did." Elena then asked as I poured the hot water into cups, "How is she?" Rose spoke, "Over reacting, big time."

I looked at Rose with a stern expression, "Her boyfriend just died, there's no such thing as overreacting." Rose shook her head and explained, "Those tears aren't for her, she didn't care about Slater. She only dated him long enough to see if he'd turn her." I felt like a total gossip, but at the moment, I didn't care.

I then walked out to Alice and gave her a cup of tea. She thanked me and then spoke, "You look really familiar, did you know Slater?" I shook my head and said, "No, not personally. I just knew that he kept detailed records of all his vampire contacts, and I was hoping that he could point me towards Klaus." Alice lifted her head up and muttered, "Doubtful, Klaus doesn't want to be pointed at."

"Do you know Slater's computer password?" I asked her, and she looked appalled at me, which made me roll my eyes, "Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart." "I understand that, do you know his password?" I asked again. "Who do you think you are?" She spoke, and I sighed and looked at Rose, "What if I could convince Rose to turn you? Will you show us his files then?" Rose looked at me with wide eyes, while Elena smirked at me.

Soon enough, we were all huddled around Slater's computer. "Someone's been here, the hard drive is completely wiped out." Alice said, and Rose added, "Yeah, probably by the person who killed him." I turned around and put my hand on my head when Alice spoke, "Lucky for you, Slater was paranoid. Everything is backed up on a remote server."

Rose then turned to me and whispered, "You know that she is not going anywhere near my blood, right?" Elena joined us while I whispered, "I know, but she doesn't." I then walked over to Alice as I heard Rose and Elena talk, "Damon was right, she really is a mastermind." "Yup, I wouldn't mess with her if I were you."

"Kristen Stewart, god was he obvious." Alice commented. "These are all leads to vampires?" I asked her, and she nodded, "Slater was obsessed, almost as much as me." Rose then pointed out a contact, "What about that one, Cody Webber, they exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah."

"I could call him." Alice suggested, and I handed her the phone. "Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus, the doppelgänger is alive and ready to surrender." "What?!" Elena and Rose exclaimed, and Alice marveled at me, "Oh my god! I knew I recognized you." "Just get him the message please." I snapped at her, and walked into the kitchen.

Elena and Rose followed me, "What are you doing?" Rose asked, and I replied coolly, "Getting Klaus' attention." Elena then stated with tears in her eyes, "If Klaus knows that you're alive, he will find you and kill you." I nodded at her and Rose concluded, "Which is exactly what you wanted all along."

"It's either me or my family." I defended myself, and Rose spoke, "So you orchestrated a suicide mission, so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else." Alice then came in and smiled at me, "Cody is on his way, and he really wants to meet you."

Elena and Rose left me alone as I watched the people walk by at the window. Elena grabbed her phone and called Damon, "Elena?" He asked, picking up. "Don't be mad at me." She spoke, and he questioned, "Why what'd you do?" "You need to get to Richmond immediately." She said hurriedly. "Tell me." Damon ordered, and she did.

As I was looking out the window, staring at my own reflection, another one appeared. _Elijah. _I gasped and turned around to see if he was behind me, he wasn't. And as I looked back to the window, he was gone.

I was sipping a glass of water, and saw that Alice was looking at me funny. I turned around to find Damon looking enraged. "What are you doing here?" Damon asked, and I asked him the same question. Rose and Elena then walked into the room and I accused Rose, "You called him." She put her hands up and said, "It wasn't me."

I then turned to Elena, the betrayal was clear on my face. "Elena, you said you understood." "Well she lied." Damon snapped, interrupting Elena before she could defend herself. Alice then came up next to Elena and exclaimed, "Damon Salvatore, oh my god!" Damon then squinted at Rose and Elena and ordered, "Get rid of her."

They pushed Alice out of the room and Damon spoke, "C'mon, we're leaving." I shook my head, "No." "I said we're leaving." Damon sneered, and I repeated, "I said I'm not going with you." "You don't get to make decisions anymore." He told, and I argued, "When have I ever made a decision, you and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision."

Damon looked at me for a second before questioning, "Who's going to save your lmife while you're out making decisions?" I groaned and said, "You're not listening to me, Damon. I don't want to be saved! Not if it means that Klaus is going to kill every single person that I love." He clearly didn't hear me, and stated, "Get your perky little ass out the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself."

I glared daggers at him, and he grabbed my arm. "No." I repeated as he tried to grab me. I went to punch him, but he caught my hand and squeezed it, bringing it down to my face. Our faces were mere inches away from each other's and he whispered, "Don't you ever do that again." He then backed away from me, and I exhaled, not knowing that I was holding my breath.

Damon opened the closet doors as I sat next to Elena and Rose on the couch, Elena kept trying to apologize, but I ignored her. "Okay, time to go." He said, and we all got up. "Alice is soundly asleep and won't remember any of this horribly stupid day." Suddenly, the doors were flung open and three vampires stood in the entrance of the apartment.

"We're here to meet the doppelgänger." Cody said, and I replied, "Thank you for coming." When I tried to step up and go to them, Damon blocked me and threatened, "I will break your arm." He then added to the vampires, "There's nothing here for you."

Unexpectedly, one of the vampires dropped to the ground. Elijah stood behind the corpse with the vampire's heart in his hand. He flashed to Cody and then Rose ran off, leaving Elena, Damon, and I facing them. Elijah stared at me as Damon said, "I killed you, you were dead." Elijah retorted with, "For centuries now."

I chuckled a little at that, and Elena nudged me while Elijah smiled. Damon saw that and stepped in front of me to block me from Elijah's view. Elijah rolled his eyes and turned to Cody, "Who are you?" Cody retorted with the same question. "I'm Elijah." Cody's eyes widened and he stuttered, "We were gonna bring her to you." This made Elijah look at me, and he kept staring as Cody continued, "For Klaus, she's the doppelgänger. I don't know how she exists, but she does, Klaus would want to see her."

"Does anyone else know that you're here?" Elijah asked, and we locked gazes until Cody said, "No." Elijah looked back and forth between the two vampires and then ripped both of their hearts out. Elena gasped beside me, but I had no reaction, I just stared at him.

Damon looked ready for a fight as he stepped up, but Elijah just looked at me, smiled and ran away.

Damon walked Elena and I to the door of our house, and I thanked him for the ride, "Well, your ride left you stranded." Elena replied, "She was just scared, she didn't mean to run." "Yes she did, she's been running for 500 years." Damon pointed out.

"I can't believe Elijah's alive." I spoke, dumbfounded. "Why do you think he killed those vampires, and just let us go?" Elena asked, and Damon shrugged, "If I had a dollar for every evil vampire that surprised me…Or for everyone that had a thing for Erin."

I rolled my eyes and walked up to the door, but Damon caught my arm. "What you did today was incredibly stupid." Elena walked into the house and left me on the porch with Damon. "Actually, the only thing that was stupid was that I got caught." I retorted and tried to rip my arm from his grasp.

"I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else try so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you." I stated and heard the door open. "Damon, goodnight." I turned to see Jeremy covered in blood and Elena with the car keys in her hand. "It's Stefan."

Elena and I ran into the car and I knew that Damon was right behind us. I tapped Elena's arm and mouthed for her to switch shirts with me. She did, and we also switched places at a red light. It was quite handy that I had no time to curl my hair today, so Elena and I looked exactly alike.

I told her to run into the tomb like there was no tomorrow and pretend to be me, well I whispered it to her. She nodded and did as I said, and I pretended to be her. I parked the car, and saw Elena quickly get out and sprint into the tomb.

"Stefan! Stefan!" She yelled into the tomb, and Damon came up behind her and pinned her to the wall. I walked down the steps and saw them, "Don't you dare." Damon warned her, and Elena argued, "Stefan's in there, Damon! How could you let this happen?!"

"What are you talking about? I was too busy saving you from your stupid kamikaze mission." Damon sneered, _He believes it! _I quickly ran into the tomb and screamed Stefan's name. Suddenly, I was pinned to the wall, quite like Elena was, but I looked up and saw Stefan. I sighed and Stefan asked, "Elena, what are you doing here?"

I shook my head and answered, "Wrong twin." Stefan sighed and pulled me into a hug. "I'm gonna get you out, okay? Whatever it takes, I promise." I mumbled, and he whispered, "Just don't get yourself into any trouble." I nodded and pulled away from him slightly so that I could kiss his cheek.

I heard Elena and Damon's fighting stop, and I guessed Damon finally figured it out. "You should go." Stefan said and I released him. Walking away, I could see Katherine smirking, "I thought you were Elena for a second, I almost attacked you. Thank god you were not the little bitch or I would have ripped your head off." I rolled my eyes and retorted, "I'll keep that in mind, grandma."

I made it to the entrance of the tomb where I ehard her yell playfully, "That's great great great great great grandma to you!" I laughed and saw Damon with a scowl on his face. "We'll talk later, Elena's waiting in the car." I huffed, and knew that I was in deep trouble.

I met Elena in the car and smiled at her, "You're a fantastic actress." She smiled at me and spoke, "I learned from the best." We laughed and reveled in this nice moment between us because we knew we wouldn't get a lot of these.


	11. By The Light Of The Moon

I was peacefully sleeping when my phone started ringing. Groaning, I picked it up and said, "Hello?" The chipper voice of Mrs. Lockwood sounded through the phone, "Good morning, Erin. I was wondering, since you are Mystic Falls resident history buff, and you have your mother's archives, if you would host a writer that is doing a book on small town Virginia."

I sighed and spoke, "Mrs. Lockwood, I kind of have a lot on my plate right now." She pleaded with me, "Please, Erin. I can't do this on top of being the interim mayor, raising Tyler, and having my husband die."

Glaring at the phone, I could feel guilt seep through me. "Of course, Mrs. Lockwood. I would love to host this writer." "Thank you so much, Erin. So, since the archives are at your house, the writer will stop by tonight to pick some of it up." She squealed, and I just muttered, "Ok." And then she hung up.

I got up for the day and changed, _Thank god I have time to curl my hair! I can only spend so much time looking exactly like Elena. _I walked past Elena's room and peaked in and saw Bonnie and Elena with the moonstone in their hands.

"Now that you've got this back, what are you going to do with it?" Elena asked, examining the stone. "Right now, it's what is binding the sun and moon curse. If I can figure out a way to remove the spell from the stone, the stone becomes useless." Bonnie explained.

I then strolled into the room and stated, "And then, according to Katherine, Klaus becomes vengeful." Bonnie turned to me and told, "Maybe, if he finds out." I then snapped, "Bonnie, can't this wait? Stefan's stuck in the tomb. We've got to get him out!"

Bonnie then argued, "Stefan wants me to focus on this." "Don't listen to him! He thinks he's protecting me, but he's wrong." I countered, and Bonnie sighed, "I'm taking Stefan's side on this one. We're not gonna let you get used in a creepy sacrifice ritual."

I saw Bonnie snatch the stone from Elena's hand and put it in her purse. Then, Jeremy made his way into the room. "What are you guys arguing about?" He asked, and I could sense the set up right as he walked in.

"We're not arguing about anything." Bonnie denied and got up saying that she wanted to 'get a coffee'. _Yeah right._ I saw the look that Bonnie and Jer gave each other, and it was so obvious what they were doing. They couldn't trick me, _I taught them this!_

I huffed and acted like I didn't know anything as I sat on the bed next to Elena. Jeremy stared at me and I snapped, "What?" "Why are you on some suicide mission?" Jeremy asked, and I rolled my eyes. "I'm just trying to prevent everyone else from getting hurt."

"So bringing Klaus the moonstone so you can get yourself killed is ok?" He said, and I knew that he was trying to put a thought into my head. Jeremy shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving me with my twin.

As soon as Jeremy was gone, Elena turned to me and looked down at Bonnie's purse. She sneaked her hand inside and grabbed the moonstone. 'What are you doing?' I mouthed to her, and she whispered back, "If I give Klaus the moonstone and tell him that I'm the doppelgänger, he'll have to believe it and sacrifice me."

My eyes widened and I shook my head telling her no. I knew that Elena wouldn't get away with it because Bonnie and Jeremy planned something, so I let her go. Elena walked down the stairs, and Bonnie stopped her, "Where are you going?" "Umm, to see Matt." Elena lied.

"You're lying." Bonnie stated, and Elena pretended to be confused, "No, I'm not." "Tell that to your face." Bonnie countered, and then Jeremy appeared from behind her with Bonnie's purse, "She took the moonstone."

"How did you?" Elena asked them as I watched on in amusement, "They tested us, and you failed." Bonnie nodded and added, "It was a fifty-fifty guess on who would take it." Elena looked between Bonnie and Jeremy and stated, "Klaus killed Katherine's entire family just because she crossed him. I can't let that happen."

Bonnie let Elena go surprisingly, and when Elena went to leave, she was stopped by an invisible barrier. Elena gave Bonnie a questioning look, and I asked, "What did you do?" Bonnie then spoke, "It's for the best guys." I huffed, knowing that I was locked in the house as well.

* * *

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed something to eat, seeing Jenna and Alaric coming down the stairs. I told Jenna about Mrs. Lockwoods call this morning, "So now I'm playing Historical Society hostess to some writer who's doing this book on small town Virginia."

Jenna chuckled while Alaric spoke, "Well that sounds-" "Lame." Jenna cut in, and a chucked a banana at her. "She played the dead husband card, who could blame me for giving in! Plus, mom kept most of the archives, so there you have it." They laughed and said goodbye as they left for the Grill.

* * *

I was taking a nap on the couch, Jersey shore playing on the tv in front of me. Hearing someone walk into the house, I woke up. "You should learn to knock, what if I was indecent." I joked, and saw Damon swagger towards me, "You should really lock your door."

I glared at him, and he mocked, "Oh, c'mon pouty, at least give me points for ingenuity." I crossed my arms, "Do you really think this is funny?" "Yes, Erin, I find hilarity in the lengths that I have to go to repeatedly save your life." He spoke.

"What did Stefan have to say about this?" Elena asked and walked into the room. I could see Damon immediately sour at her presence. Damon sagged onto the couch and said, "We had a good laugh." "And what did he say about Elijah still being alive?" I questioned him, and Damon rolled his eyes, "Still hung up over him, huh?" After seeing my heated glare, he spoke, "Yeah, that, I didn't tell him."

Damon put his arm around me, and I raised an eyebrow. He just winked at me in response while Elena asked, "Why not?" Damon turned to her and said, "Well, A he can't do anything about it, and B, what I just said."

Damon heard Jeremy walk into the room and asked, "Where's Bonnie?" "I thought she was with you." He answered, and Damon looked over at me, "No, she's on moonstone duty and I'm on Erin patrol, and Elena unfortunately." Elena glared, and I asked, "Who's on Tyler in the full moon?" Elena then snapped her head towards us and questioned, "The full moon's tonight?"

Damon's phone rang and he quickly answered Elena's question before picking up, "Yup, but you're too absorbed in all your bitchiness and suicidal tendencies to notice." Damon got up from the couch and was on the phone. He then hung up and pointed to Jeremy, "Change of plans, you babysit."

Jeremy then plopped on top of me while Damon continued, "You know you should get out, see the sun, oh wait, you can't." I threw a pillow at him and yelled, "Be careful tonight!" Jeremy was still laughing, so I got annoyed and pushed him onto the floor.

* * *

A few hours later, I heard Jenna calling my name. _The writer must be here. _I walked downstairs and Jenna was rummaging around in the closet under the stairs. When I was little, I would hang out in there and pretend I was Harry Potter.  
"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked her and she grabbed another box. "Oh, perfect timing." She muttered and shoved one of the boxes into my arms, "Woah, why are you doing this, this is my job. I haven't seen these in a while. The files from mom's Historical Society, right? I was supposed to be handed the load when I hit 18."

She hummed in agreement, and asked playfully, "How did I get roped in when you got roped into help Mrs. Lockwood? And by roped, I mean very excited to participate." Jenna then closed the closet to reveal Elijah behind it.

My eyes widened, and I fumbled with the box. I quickly composed myself as he smiled at me and introduced himself, "Hey, I'm Elijah."

Jenna lifted the box from my hand and informed me, "Elijah's the writer in town that's doing research on Mystic Falls." _Oh shit. I am Elijah's hostess. _Elijah then walked up to me and put his hand out and spoke, "It's a pleasure." I shook his hand and gulped.

I then spoke to be friendly and not give anything away to Jenna, "You're welcome to stay and rummage through everything, or Jenna and I could help you load some of it into your car." I could see I brought a smile to his face while he replied, "Yeah, or I could get someone to pick it up tomorrow."

I then smirked and commented, "Also a good plan." Elijah then moved past me and Jenna led him out the door as he spoke, "Thank you for inviting me into your home, Jenna. And Erin, since you are my hostess, I will see you very soon." I nodded and waved.

Once he was gone and out the door, I ran up the stairs and pounded on Jeremy's door. As I was about to barge into his room, a hand caught mine. I looked up to see Elijah with a finger over his mouth, signaling for me to be quiet.

Jeremy opened the door and I quickly lied to him saying that Jenna needed help. When he went downstairs, I turned to Elijah who spoke, "It's a wise choice." "What do you want?" I asked him, and he said, "I think it's time you and I had a little chat."

I led him into my bedroom, and he looked around. "Forgive the intrusion, I mean your family no harm." I stood by my door and asked, "Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?" Elijah sat down on my window seat and stated, "Because I didn't want you to be taken."

This got my attention, and I gave him a confused look. "Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals. But those who fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelgänger exists, then there will be a line of eager vampires willing to take you to him. And I can't have that." He explained.

"Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do?" I questioned him, and he spoke, "Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse." "So what is your goal?" I interrogated. Elijah then told, "Klaus's obsessions have made him paranoid, he's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle."

"Like you?" Elijah shook his head and answered, "Not anymore." Realization dawned on me as I put the pieces together, "You don't know where he is, do you? So you're trying to use me to draw him out." Elijah smiled at my connection.

"Well in order to do that, I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed." That made my mouth drop in offense and I complained, "That was one time!" He looked amused, and I asked, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Well, if I wasn't being truthful, your family would be dead and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now." I scoffed at that and interrupted, "Way to be blunt." He raised his hands and continued, "Instead, I'm here and I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

I moved towards him eagerly and questioned, "What kind of a deal?" Elijah got up and stated, "Do nothing. Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting. And then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw Klaus out together. And I shall make sure that your friends remain unharmed."

Elijah looked through my belongings, and I snapped, "And then what?" He turned to me and told, "And then I kill him." I raised an eyebrow at him, "Just like that?" "Just like that." He repeated, and I couldn't help but admire his smile as he spoke, "I'm a man of my word, Erin. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"How are you gonna be able to keep everybody safe?" I asked curiously. "I noticed that you have a friend, Bonnie, is it. She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts." He said, and I responded, "You know witches."

"Together, we can protect everybody that matters to you." Elijah must have seen my expression because he stepped up and spoke, "So, do we have a deal?" An idea hit me right then, "I need you to do one more thing for me."

"We're negotiating now?" He whispered, and I gave him a devious smirk.

* * *

I was waiting nervously for any indication of if Elijah came through. Sitting at my window seat, I pulled one of the curtains back and saw Stefan's face. I immediately smiled and turned to see him doing the same. "Hey," He greeted me, and I jumped into his arms.

I held onto him and Stefan pulled away from the hug after a moment. He cupped my face and smiled, while I did the same. Our faces inched closer and closer before our lips touched. His lips moved against mine for a short time before I pulled back. He looked shocked, and I whispered, "Hi."

He smirked and kissed me, and we walked back until we reached the bed. We both plopped onto the mattress, our lips never breaking from the others. _Finally._


	12. The Descent

**Hello everyone! I am so sorry for not updating in a while! School just started and I have a ton of work to do, but I want to get Season 2 done by Christmas, so be ready for that! Thank you all for bearing with me and reviewing during my little hiatus, I was working on another story that you should all check out! It is a Teen Wolf Fanfic called The Other Argent. I really do stick to the same kinds of stories on here lol. But anyways, here is the new chapter and I hope you like it!**

* * *

I strolled into Stefan's room and called his name. "Stefan?" I sighed as I felt a presence in the room, "You're standing right behind me aren't you?" "Yup." He answered and I turned around to see him standing there shirtless.

We smiled at each other and I wrapped my arms around him as we brought our lips together. After a few moments, I pulled away and he murmured, "Good morning." I shook my head and stated, "I don't want us to be apart anymore. Ever."

Stefan breathed before looking into my eyes and saying, "Me neither, but-"I interrupted him and spoke, "Don't ruin the moment." Then, I kissed him, and after a second, he stopped and froze. "You're about to ruin the moment, aren't you?" I asked, and he agreed, "I'm totally ruining the moment. Look, I can't just pretend that everything's okay."

"Katherine's locked away in the tomb." I stated before walking over to get a drink. "I know, but we still have this little issue of you being Klaus' human sacrifice." He spoke, and I frowned as he put his shirt on. "Yes, but Elijah promised to keep everyone else safe as long as I play by his rules." I informed him as I poured the vervain into the water.

"Right, as long as you play by his rules." He pointed out, and I begged, "Please don't go after Isobel." "Katherine said that Isobel could have some answers, and I have a couple questions, that's all." Stefan said innocently. "Stefan, I made a deal with Elijah."

I took a sip of the water as Stefan argued, "Yeah, you made a deal with him. I didn't make one, you should keep your deal." "Stefan, I don't want anyone else to get hurt." I stated, and he countered, "When have I ever wanted somebody to get hurt."

I sighed and just looked down at the drink in my hands. "Vervain, I made it light. But, are you sure? Just because Katherine built up a tolerance.." "Yes, bottoms up." Stefan replied and took the drink out of my hand. He looked at it for a moment before gulping it down.

I rubbed his back soothingly as he started coughing on the ground. After a minute, he got back up, and I asked, "Are you okay?" He nodded and found his voice, "Yeah." "How can Elijah compel another vampire?" I questioned him, and he shrugged, "He's an Original. I'm not really sure what that means. I don't think anybody really knows what that means. Well, except maybe Isobel, and I'll be sure to ask her."

I was about to argue, but he just kissed me, gave me a look, and walked away. I huffed and texted Elena to come and pick me up. I walked downstairs and heard voices, so I decided to eavesdrop on Damon and Rose's conversation. "Just a little fatal to a vampire werewolf bite." Rose laughed a little, and Damon pointed out, "Well, according to legend. Which is a notoriously unreliable source. So, drink up blood heals."

I knitted the conversation together in my head, _Rose got bitten last night. _"Yeah, it does feel like it's working." Rose admitted, and hope sprouted within me. "Well, let's have a look." Damon said, and I tiptoed quietly into the room, wanting to see if she was okay.

"It's definitely better." Damon lied, and I knew Rose didn't believe it. Damon then turned his head to me and asked, "Right Erin?" My mouth gaped like a fish and I panicked as Rose turned around to face me, "It's not bad."

"Where's Stefan?" Damon asked, and I answered, "He left. I need you to talk to him; he's convinced he needs to find Isobel. But I think it's not going to go well with Elijah." "No can do, I'm with Stefan on this one. But if you can play nurse for just a little while." Damon spoke, and Rose interjected, "That's not necessary." "It is necessary. Erin's a do gooder, it's in her nature she just can't resist." Damon responded before leaving the room, and I gave Rose a smile before following.

"Damon." He turned around, and I added, "Is she going to die?" Damon shrugged and said, "Probably. The wolf bite caused some kind of infection, it's getting worse." "Like a poison?" I questioned, and countered, "I don't know, Erin. I'm not an expert in the field."

I apologized and he spoke, "Death happens, we come and we go. The sooner she dies the better; it's gloomy as hell in here." As he stormed off, Elena came through the door. I explained to her what happened, and I asked her if she would help me. She groaned, but ended up agreeing.

* * *

Elena and I led Rose to Damon's room, and she admitted, "I hate this. I'm a vampire, I haven't had a cold in five centuries." "Just get in the bed." Elena ordered, and Rose did. I pulled off her sweater and inspected the bite, it was definitely getting worse.

"When we die, it's fast and sudden. And it's certainly not drawn out with an illness." She spoke, and I tucked her into bed before stating, "You're not going to die." "Such a human thing to say." Rose countered, as she lay down.

I looked around the room, and pictured Damon in it. Rose noticed and asked, "You've never been in Damon's room before, have you?" I picked up the first book I found and saw Gone With the Wind. I scoffed and Rose asked, "Not what you expected?" I heard Elena state, "It's just a room with a bed."

I shook my head and argued, "No, someone's room kind of reflects who they are. This is definitely Damon's room, it's perfect for him." Elena gave me a look, but Rose smiled at me. I covered it up by joking, "Okay, maybe I expected there to be silk sheets." They both laughed at that, but it died down quickly.

"You're lucky, you know. No one has ever loved me the way you're loved." Rose told me, and I responded, "I doubt that." "Trevor was my best friend, nothing more. We spent all those years on the run from Elijah. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not really compatible with being a vampire."

I thought of Damon and Stefan at that moment, and everything they've been through. _If I ever turned, would I lose my family as well? _Elena gave Rose a glass of blood and she kept questioning me, "Why are you so eager to give up?" "I'm not giving up on anything." I stated.

"What do you call this whole deal with Elijah?" She asked, and I replied, "I call it my best option." "It's your easiest option." Rose pointed out, and after a moment I murmured, "That's not fair." "Do you really think your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?" Rose questioned, and Elena replied, "I spoke with Bonnie; I know she had the help of another witch."

I then finished off her statement by saying, "Assuming it's Elijah witch, so no, I don't." Rose looked at me and told, "You really are determined to die. At least I ran, you're not even trying." Rose handed the cup of blood to me and sighed, "I'm so tired."

I put the glass down and Elena and I got up. As we started to walk away, Rose exclaimed, "No, stop, wait. Tell them to prepare the horses." My voice was soft as I spoke, "Rose, go back to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." "Trevor, don't be stupid. We'll never make it there before the sun… Erin, Elena I need more blood."

I rushed to give her the glass, and she downed it. I rubbed her back, and she started to cough and throw up blood. "It's okay, you're gonna be alright." I told her, and Elena and I both rushed into the bathroom. Rose's cough made me rush faster to get a towel. I threw the towel to Elena who ran it under cold water.

We then ran back into the bedroom and found Rose gone. I turned around and came face to face with Rose. She snarled at me and threw me to the wall, pinning me. Elena started screaming for Rose to stop, but Rose ignored her and the veins under her eyes pulsated. "It's all your fault, Katerina!" She yelled.

"You, Katerina! You did this!" She blamed, and Elena spoke, "Rose, Rose that's Erin!" Rose then snarled, "Traitor!" I finally found my voice and yelled at her, "I'm not Katherine!" Rose's face suddenly went back to normal, and I sighed in relief. "Erin?" Rose asked, and I nodded, "It's me, it's Erin."

"Oh my god, Erin. I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening to me." Rose apologized, and I spoke, "It's alright. You're gonna be alright." Elena and I led her to the bed as she explained, "It's my mind." "It's fine, it only happened for a second." I told, and she pleaded, "Please don't be scared of me."

"I'm not." I stated, and Elena added, "But you need to rest." We tucked her into bed, and she admitted, "I'm scared." "You're not alone, we're right here." I tried to comfort her, and she grew confused, "Here? Where's here?" "Damon's bedroom, you're in Damon's bedroom." Elena said.

Rose then cried, "I want to go home." I then sat on the bed next to her and offered, "Tell me about it." Rose breathed heavily before answering, "St. Lastel, 30 kilometers south of London. Full of fields and trees and horses." "It sounds beautiful." I whispered, and she continued, "When you live long enough, everything disappears. So much time wasted, I just wish I hadn't been more afraid."

* * *

She then fell asleep, and Elena and I went to fetch some clean sheets. We didn't speak, neither of us had to know what the other was thinking. "We brought some clean sheets." Elena said as we walked through the bedroom door. Rose was gone, "Shit." I stated.

I put the sheets down, and we both walked down the stairs. We looked everywhere, and when we searched the library, I grabbed my phone. I hit speed dial, and got Damon's voicemail, "It's Erin. I'm worried about Rose, I think you should come home." Elena and I heard a crash from the basement, and I called Rose's name and hung up the phone.

As we strolled down the steps, there was a trail of blood. Elena, who was in front of me, gasped as she turned the corner. I curiously looked at what she was staring at and whispered, "Oh my god." Rose sat on the basement floor covered in blood, and she was currently guzzling down a blood bag.

She saw me staring and I groaned when she spoke, "Katerina." "No! Elena run!" I yelled and blocked Rose by throwing a door in front of her. Elena and I sprinted up the stairs and tried to open up a door, but it wouldn't budge.

Just then, a snarling Rose appeared in front of us. "Rose, stop! Erin is not Katherine, you're hallucinating." I kept repeating "I'm not Katherine." Thankfully, her face went back to normal, but it quickly vamped out again as she attacked me.

Elena pulled the curtain down, and Rose started screaming. Elena and I grabbed hands and ran towards the front door. I tried to open it, but Rose slammed it shut. She then went to bite me, but I dug my nails into the werewolf bite. She cried out in pain, and I yelled at Elena, "Run into Stefan's room and don't come out until I say so!" She did reluctantly, and I ran in the opposite direction.

I cried out as I felt teeth being ripped into my neck. My brain went a little fuzzy as I could feel the blood being taken from my body. Then, I heard Rose start coughing, and she muttered, "Vervain." I was very thankful that I tested out Stefan's vervain this morning.

Just as I thought my luck was beginning to turn around, I was thrown to the wall. My head hit it hard, and I welcomed the darkness with open arms as I passed out.

* * *

**No POV**

After the sun went down, Elena thought it was safe to check out the house. She hadn't heard from her sister for a few hours, and she was worried. Elena had a vice grip on the stake in her hand, and she walked through the halls of the Boarding House cautiously.

She found the living room empty, and she gasped as she saw the front door open. Elena hoped that Erin at least got away. Elena felt a presence behind her and on instinct, she went to stab the person when she turned around. Damon caught the stake and looked at it with surprise. "Where's Rose and Erin?" He asked her, and Elena ran a hand through her hair and sighed, "I don't know."

Damon gave her an 'are you kidding me' look, and froze for a second. "What? What is it?" Elena questioned, and Damon lifted up a finger, signaling for her to be quiet. "I smell blood." He stated, and Elena spoke, "Rose went on a rampage, and she raided your blood supply." "No, it's not that. It's Erin, Erin's blood." Damon explained, and his head snapped towards the stairs.

Damon started to walk towards the stairs and Elena followed him. The pair made their way into the upstairs hallway, and Damon noticed that the scent grew stronger as he inched closer and closer to his room. Elena had hoped that Erin was okay and got out, but luck wasn't on her side.

Damon opened the door to his bedroom and his stomach dropped at what he saw. Erin laid on his bed, covered in her own blood. She had two holes in her neck, and a trickle of blood made a line down her forehead. There was a note next to her body that read:

_I'm sorry_

_-R_

Elena gasped and rushed towards the bed, hurriedly trying to find her sister's pulse. Elena sighed in relief when she felt her sister's wrist, her pulse was slow, but it was there. Damon quickly bit his wrist and made his way over to Erin. He cradled her head as his blood poured into her mouth. After a few seconds, he could feel her swallow it. Damon watched her and just admired how beautiful she looked, she would make an amazing vampire.

About a minute later, Erin's eyes opened and she tiredly asked, "Damon?" "Hey, I'm right here." Damon whispered and moved a piece of hair from her face. Elena then hugged her sister, and Erin spoke, "Lena, what the hell are you doing? Where's Rose?" "We don't know." Elena explained.

"What the hell happened?" Damon snarled, angry at himself for leaving her and at Rose for touching Erin. "It was Rose, she thought I was Katherine and attacked me. Then I just woke up." Erin told them. Damon then got a call from Liz, telling him that there was an emergency at the school. "That's probably Rose, go ahead I'll clean up here." Erin offered, and the pair reluctantly left Erin alone.

* * *

**Erin POV**

I got Damon new sheets, and I changed into some clothes that I left here. I decided not to call Stefan, he was already worried. About a half hour later, I heard the front door open, and Damon carried Rose inside. Rose was unconscious, and Damon brought her into his room. A few minutes after he changed her, she woke up, and I resumed eavesdropping.

"Hi there." Damon spoke softly. "I'm sorry." She apologized. "You went on a murderous rampage, it happens." Damon joked, and I cracked a smile at that. I then decided to walk into the room and Rose spoke, "I'm sorry Erin. I don't like taking human life, I never have." Damon turned to look at me, and we locked eyes, "You shouldn't be here."

"It's the worst part about it: the hunt, the need to kill, the thirst, the pleasure it brings you afterwards. I wasn't meant to be evil. It hurts." Rose continued, and Damon interjected, "So stop talking about it." I went to Rose's side as she explained, "Damon's a lot like me. He wants to care, and when he does he runs away from it. I'm sorry for what I've done today."

"I know." I whispered, tears coming into my eyes. "And you need to fight. I know that we haven't known each other for long, but I know that you're a fighter. You're not like other people, you're special, one of a kind. I know that you're scared, but you need to do it anyways." She told me, and when she started coughing again, I held her hand.

"Rose, hey listen to me. I'll fight, okay? I'm going to try my best and I'm going to fight. And it will be because of you." I whispered softly to her, even though I knew that Damon could hear me. She replied, "Thank you."

She hummed and questioned, "Even after everything I've done today, why are you so nice to me?" I answered, "Us humans." "You can never forget it, what it's like to be human. It haunts me, it's the only thing that keeps me going. It doesn't hurt so much anymore."

Rose then started moaning and screaming in pain while she clutched her stomach. I turned to Damon and asked, "What do we do?" "Go." He ordered, and I started to back up. "Damon," I spoke, and he just said, "Go, I got this."

I waited in Stefan's room until I heard Damon leave the house. I made my way downstairs and to the living room, made a drink for Damon, and waited. An hour later, Damon walked through the door and froze when he saw me, "You were supposed to leave."

"Well I didn't, and I wanted to make sure that you were okay." I said and handed him the drink. "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm just glad it's over." He sipped the drink and I shook my head, "You know I don't believe that." Damon motioned towards the door and stated, "Just go home, Erin. Get some rest, it's a whole new day tomorrow."

"Damon, I'm your friend." I started and he cut in, "I'm well aware of that." I just continued on, "And a friend usually knows when the other friend is hurting." "What do you want to hear, Erin? That I cared about Rose, that I'm upset? Well I didn't and I'm not." He said, and I scoffed.

"There you go, pretending to turn it off, pretending not to feel. Damon you're so close, don't give up." I begged him, and he replied, "I feel, Erin. Okay? And it sucks. What sucks even more was that it was supposed to be me. Jules was coming after me." I nodded in realization and told, "You feel guilty."

"That would be human of me, wouldn't it Erin? And I'm not human. You're one to talk about giving up, all you've done is give up. Go home. There's been enough doom and gloom and personal growth for one day." He spoke and nodded towards the door.

"Okay, I will." I said and looked into his sad, lost, baby blue eyes and melted. I pulled him into a hug and I hoped he appreciated it. After a few moments, I pulled back and whispered, "Goodnight Damon."

* * *

I was driving home when suddenly, my car started smoking. I groaned as I pulled my car over to the side of the road. I opened the lid of the car, and the smoke came out at the same time. I backed up from my car, and frustration came over me. "Seriously?! Right now is not the best time for this."

I then started thinking about my day, and about Rose. Tears came to my eyes, and in a fit of rage, I started kicking my car. After a few seconds of that, I just collapsed next to my car and cried. "You also cried the first time we met." I heard a voice in front of me, and I looked up to see Elijah.

"Yeah, well I guess I haven't been having the easiest life since then." I replied, and he came over to me. "Car troubles?" He asked, and I numbly nodded. "Would you like some help?" I nodded at that as well. As he fixed my car, Elijah questioned me, "So, is there any particular reason you're crying?"

My voice was hoarse as I replied, "Rose is dead." He stopped working at that, and I continued, "Werewolf bite." "That is a shame, I respected Rosemarie." Elijah told me, and after that, he worked in silence. When he was done, he sat next to me on the ground.

"Everyone thinks I'm giving up, and that this deal I made was me not fighting. I am fighting, I'm fighting for my friends and family. I know that we talked about keeping everyone else safe, but we never talked about me." I told him, and he just let me vent.

"Do you think I'm going to see them again, my family?" I asked him, and he answered, "I think you'll see whoever you want to see." "That would be nice. Maybe I'll see my parents again too. I miss them, I never really talk about them." I spoke, and he said softly, "You never got over their deaths. Tell me about them."

I sighed and just looked straight ahead, at nothing in particular. "My dad was a doctor, and he would take me with him to work sometimes. I knew that from a very young age that I wanted to be a doctor. I even went to med camp every year since I was 10, but I didn't go last summer. When my parents died, everything changed. I didn't have my mom anymore to help me with stupid problems like what outfit I should wear to school or what I should get Tyler for his birthday. And then, you realize everything that they're not gonna be there for. They'll never see me get married or have kids, or grow up. The kind of stuff you just need your parents for."

Elijah then took my hand and stated, "It will get better. Just know that wherever they are, they're looking down at you and smiling." I nodded and wiped my eyes. "Thank you, Elijah. For everything." He nodded and I got into my car and drove away.

* * *

I sighed as I walked through the door of my house. Seeing Stefan, I grew confused. "Stefan, you're home." "Rose?" He asked, and I just shook my head, hoping that he wouldn't ask if I was crying. He didn't. "I um I called Isobel." He started, and I nodded, knowing he would do it anyway. "I know."

"I'm sorry, I had to." He apologized, and I said, "It's okay. Did you find her?" "Not exactly." I heard a voice say. I turned to look and found my Uncle John standing next to Elena, who was glaring at him. "Hello Erin." "John." I stated, shocked.


	13. Daddy Issues

Elena and I strolled into the kitchen and frowned when we saw John. He turned the television off and greeted us, "Morning." "What are you doing here?" I demanded, getting right to it.

"Coffee?" He spoke, and I squinted at him and told, "We're not doing that, we did that last night. No more avoiding, why are you here?" "I'm here to protect you, Erin. That's all I can say at the moment." He said coolly, and Elena snapped, "What do you mean 'that's all you can say'?"

"I'll tell you more when I'm convinced I can trust you." Uncle John answered, but before we could say anything else, Alaric and Jenna barreled through. "Oh my gosh, I'm late!" Jenna rushed, and Alaric spoke, amused, "That's what you get for hitting the snooze 3 times."

The two then noticed John, and Jenna groaned, "What the hell." "Good morning to you, Jenna, Alaric." He spoke, and Jenna rambled, "It's okay that I'm confused, right? Because we were not expecting you for like ever."

"Well, I got in late last night, the twins let me in." _Wow, way to throw us under the bus! Dear old Daddy John. _Alaric then left, but not before giving me a wary look. I nodded at him, silently saying 'I got this'. Jenna then turned back to us and shook her head, "I'm still confused here."

"I decided to come back and stay for a while." John told my aunt, and Jenna argued, "Not here you're not." "Actually, you can't stop me from living here." John defended himself, and I knew where this was going.

"Actually, I can as legal guardian." Jenna stated, and John said, "Yeah, about that. Um, girls, would you like me to explain the situation or would you like to do the honors?" My mouth gaped and I stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, Jenna. I should've told you earlier, but-"

John then interrupted me and stated, "I'm Erin and Elena's biological father, there, now you know." He then walked out, leaving Elena and I with Jenna who asked, "What?"

At the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan told Damon about what happened. "You brought back John Gilbert? That was your big 'Save Erin' move?" Damon asked in disbelief. "I went to go look for Isobel, and I got John instead. He said he could help us and we're desperate." Stefan defended himself.

"We're not that desperate, Stefan! The guy tried to barbeque me." Damon pointed out, and Stefan walked towards his brother, "Damon, Bonnie's new witch friend is working with Elijah. So we have to assume that the moonstone was never destroyed. Erin is putting all of her faith in some deal that she made with Elijah to keep everyone safe. I mean, do you trust Elijah? I don't, he's an Original, he can't be trusted! But unfortunately, Erin blindly trusts him for some odd reason that no one else understands! And it's not like we can just go up and kill him because apparently, he can't die."

"I'm still waiting for the part where John Gilbert's the answer." Damon spoke, and Stefan calmly said, "He knew about the sacrifice, Isobel told him. He said he knew of a way to keep Erin safe." "And how do we do that?" Damon questioned his little brother, who shrugged, "He's not talking, at least not to me anyway."

Damon then huffed, "Great work, Stefan, top notch. It's not like I had any more problems." He then started to walk away, but Stefan said, "Hey, I'm sorry about Rose." Damon turned around and replied, "I knew the woman for like five minutes." "Yeah, and you cared about her for five minutes, whatever that means."

"It means I care, Stefan. It means I'm changing and evolving into a man capable of greatness. You better watch your back because I might get a hero hairdo of my own and steal your thunder." Damon then walked out as Stefan rolled his eyes.

Stefan's phone vibrated in his pocket and he ran to Caroline's house as he saw the text.

I opened the front door, and Damon walked in. "Where's John?" He demanded, and I responded, "He's not here, he left. I don't know where he went. He just blew in, announced to Jenna that he's my dad, and then took off like he always does. John freaking Gilbert always runs away." I muttered the last part to myself and sipped my coffee, knowing Damon heard it anyways.

He ignored it and implored, "That's public knowledge now?" "Apparently." I commented, and he stepped towards me and asked with a soft expression, "Are you okay?" I shrugged and spoke, "My head's spinning a little bit like Jenna's but I'll be fine."

Damon nodded and questioned, "Did he say what he was doing here?" "No. You know, Stefan thinks he's telling the truth about wanting to help me." I informed him, and he asked, "Do you believe him?" I shook my head and stated, "No, I don't believe him for a second." "I don't either."

I sighed and walked towards the vampire, "So, what are we gonna do?" "Kill him." He commented and walked past me and to the door. "Damon." I warned, and he retorted, "I'm joking…okay, I'm a little serious." "Damon!" I scolded, and he said, "I'm not gonna hurt him, Erin. I'm the good guy now, remember?"

"What does that even mean?" I questioned and he replied, "I'm gonna have a civil conversation with your father." Elena then walked down the stairs and saw us standing there. She narrowed her eyes at Damon and asked, "Why is he here?" He rolled his eyes at her and then started to walk out the door. I then sighed and grabbed Elena's hand, "We're coming with you!"

When we arrived at The Grill, we spotted John with Jenna and Alaric. I stopped Damon and warned him, "Look, we need answers. Just please, don't do anything stupid." Damon then winked at me and stated, "But stupid is much more fun." When Damon started to walk, I pulled on his arm, "Damon, I mean it. All that I'm asking is that you try to keep it together. Be the better man."

He just looked at me for a moment before saying, "Okay then." The three of us walked to the table, and Damon greeted my father, "John, buddy, how've you been?" "I've been alright, Damon. It's good to see you…with my daughters."

A little while later, I caught up with Caroline while Elena was talking with Matt. I could see Caroline getting uncomfortable at the sight of her friend and recent ex talking, but I assured her that they were just friends. But once Caroline spotted Elena flipping her hair at Matt, a sure tell way to signal that she was aggressively flirting with someone, she bolted.

Matt excused himself and went after the blonde, much to Elena's dismay. I decided to go after the couple and followed them outside. Finding them both smiling and happy, I stepped out to hug Caroline after Matt walked away.

"It's going to be okay, and everything will work out. You'll see." I told her, and she responded with a smile, "You are so weirdly optimistic sometimes. Like is your relationship with Stefan doing _that_ well?_" _I blushed, and she stated, "That's a yes."

I laughed at her as we reached her car, arm in arm. As we were about to get in the car, however, a voice spoke behind us. "Excuse me, Caroline and Erin, right?" The two of us came face to face with a woman. The two of us nodded and the woman asked, "Have either of you seen Tyler?"

I shook my head and Caroline told, "Nope, not since earlier, sorry." We both turned back to the car, but Jules stated, "I know you're lying." Caroline shut the door to her car, turned around and said, "Really, how? Is that one of your little wolf tricks?"

"Actually, it is." Jules replied with a smile on her face, and an uneasy pit formed in my stomach as Caroline responded, "Well, I have a trick too." The blonde then flashed her vampire face, but was sprayed in the face with vervain. I yelled Caroline's name as I saw a man behind her with a gun. The blonde was furious as she looked at me, and turned around again, but got shot.

The man then looked at me and smirked. I tried to run, but Jules came up behind me and stuffed something down my throat, "Sweet dreams." Jules whispered in my ear, and then it all went black.

I groaned as I woke up, and I heard my name being called, "Erin, Erin please wake up. I need you, please." My eyes opened, and I saw that I was in a cage. Looking around, I was met with a bloody looking Caroline. "I see you're finally awake." My head snapped towards the man who shot Caroline. He sat comfortably in a chair overlooking the two cages.

"That powder stuff was nasty. I've got lots of other things, toys. It's gonna be a long night sweet pea." He spoke, looking at me. He then raised his gun and shot my leg. I screamed out in agony, hoping that someone would come and save me.

"You wanna be friends? Great, we're friends. Will you go now?" Tyler snapped, and Stefan explained, "I don't know what to say to you, Tyler. I came back to this town because I wanted a life, I wanted to exist where I could have friends and build a family. I have that here, we can both have that."

Stefan's phone then started to vibrate, and he looked at Erin's name on the caller id, "Hey, everything okay?" He asked, and Jules answered, "That depends, how badly do you want to keep her and the blonde alive?" "Who is this?" Stefan questioned after a moment, and Jules replied, "Ask your brother, now where's Tyler?"

"Jules." Stefan determined, and he implored, "Where's Erin and Caroline?" "This is your mistake, Stefan. I'm gonna give you a chance to fix it." Jules commented, and Stefan demanded, "Where are they?" "Right here, want proof?" Jules held the phone out and told the man, "He needs proof."

He smiled at Erin before sticking the gun out and shooting her in the arm. Erin started screaming, and Jules felt satisfied as Tyler and Stefan listened on in horror. "You're dead, and if you hurt Caroline as well, I will rip your heart out myself." Stefan threatened.

"I hurt her again and she's dead. Bring us Tyler at the clearing by Wickery Falls. You have twenty minutes until they both die. And who knows, maybe little Erin will die sooner." Jules then swiftly hung up on the vampire as rage filled him.

Meanwhile, at The Grill, Elena watched as Damon blew off Andie Starr. Damon gulped his alcohol in front of her, and she knew he was thinking about Erin. Elena had thought that now Erin and Stefan were finally together, that maybe Damon and Erin would stop having feelings for each other. She knew of course that she was dead wrong, those small moments of friendship the two used to have were now full on moments with a whole load of tension.

Elena's phone rang, and she was surprised to find that Stefan was calling her. "Stefan? What is it?" She asked, and her stomach dropped at what he was saying. Damon and Elena went into the bathroom so they could speak freely.

"Why am I just finding out about this now?" Damon huffed, he was extremely on edge because Erin was getting tortured. "Erin was worried that you'd-" "What, that'd I'd kill him? Of course! That's what needs to happen!" Damon stated, and Elena put up her hand and replied, "No, Damon, not Tyler. Do whatever you need to do to get Caroline and Erin back, but leave Tyler out of it, okay?"

"Why? He's a werewolf, he needs to die, I'm willing to kill. It's a win-win." Damon said sarcastically, and Elena put her hand on Damon's arm, "Damon, please. Erin and Tyler are friends, and Erin would be crushed if he died. Erin hasn't been herself lately, and I know that when she says she's fine, she's actually not."

Damon peered down at Elena's hand and peeled it off of his arm. "You need to stop doing that." He stated, and this earned him a confused look, "Doing what?" "Assuming that I'll play the good guy because you use Erin as an excuse. And you also need to stop flirting with me, Erin's my friend, you on the other hand are not."

Just then, John barged through the door. "What is going on here? Where's Erin?" He questioned them, and Elena snapped, "Nothing." "It doesn't look like nothing." John commented, and Damon sneered, "Trust works both ways, John, get out."

Elena sighed and spoke, "Look, we don't have time for this, we need to get Erin and Caroline back." "WE don't need to do anything. You'll just screw it up, I'll take care of it. First task of Dad duty, ground your bitch of a daughter, keep her here while I save the good one." Damon then walked out, prepared to pull out as many hearts as he could so Erin could be safe.

"I'm coming with you!" Elena called and tried to get away from John. "I'm with Damon on this one, you're not going anywhere. Now, tell me where Erin is and what's going on." John softly said.

Tears made their way down Caroline's cheeks as I just lay still in the cage. My friend gave me a scared look as the man asked, "So, how many vampires are in this town anyway?" When Caroline didn't answer, he sprayed vervain at her. I yelled for him to stop, and he did, surprisingly.

"Why are you doing this to us?" I questioned him, finding my voice. "Because she's a vampire, and you're the perfect leverage. So, why not?" He then shot a dart at me and I groaned in pain. Caroline then started kicking the cage and repeatedly screamed, "Let us out!"

Elena huffed as she looked at her father. "You're not leaving this restaurant." He stated, and she countered, "You can't tell me what to do." "Yes I can, and you wanna know why. I'm here to make sure you and your sister stay safe." John spoke, and Elena sneered, "Erin's got that covered."

She went to step away, but her father blocked her path. "Are you talking about that deal Erin made with Elijah? You really think he's gonna keep his promise to her? Putting your faith in Elijah is a dumb move." "Are you saying I should put my faith in you? After everything you did to Stefan and Damon..."

"We've had our differences, and I've made mistakes. But you and I, we're family." John told her, and Elena just lost all of her control at that, "You don't get to use that word, that word is off limits to you. And I put my faith in my sister because I trust her judgment." "Fine, but that doesn't change the facts." John countered.

"You're right, facts are facts. And even though you may be our father, I will never be your daughter. I can't speak for Erin because I know that she does deep down want you here. But I don't." Elena then walked off, leaving the Grill.

Jules paced the woods, waiting until she heard a twig snap. "I know you're out there." She called, and Stefan and Tyler walked onto the clearing. "Where's Erin and Caroline?" Stefan asked, keeping his cool for the time being. He then added, "Let them go, and I'll release Tyler. It doesn't have to get any messier than it already has. I'm not your enemy, Jules."

"It's a little too late to be waving a white flag, especially after you threatened to kill me." "You need to leave town, no one else has to get hurt." Stefan offered her, knowing what her decision would be. "I'm not leaving without Tyler." Jules spoke stubbornly, and Stefan smiled darkly, "Tyler's free to make his own decisions as soon as you free Erin and Caroline."

"My brother the peace maker." Damon announced his presence, making Stefan dread what he was going to say. "Since Stefan got here before me, I'm gonna let him try his way before I try my way, which is a little bloodier. So, give us Erin and Caroline."

"Let go of Tyler." Jules ordered, and Damon stated, "Give us the girls. Without the full moon it's not an even fight, and you know it. We will take you." "I'm not too sure about that tough guy." Jules said before whistling, signaling the werewolves to approach.

"Let's try this again, give us Tyler." Jules demanded, and Damon told him to go. Tyler hesitantly walked forward. "Which one of you killed Mason?" Brady asked, and Damon raised his hand and taunted, "That would be me." He then told the werewolves to make Damon suffer, causing Damon to smile at his brother innocently.

"We can take them." Damon stated, and Stefan shook his head, "I don't know about that." The fighting then started, and Caroline and I could hear some of it from the trailer. "Caroline, what's going on?" I asked her weakly, and she answered, "Stefan and Damon are here for us."

I nodded and closed my eyes, but Caroline started yelling at me, "No! Erin, don't fall asleep!" "But, Care, I'm so tired." I mumbled groggily. Then, Caroline saw Tyler appear. "Tyler! There's a latch on the door and I can't get to it!" Tyler was hesitant, and Caroline snapped, "Tyler please! Look at Erin! I need you to get me out of here so I can help her! Please, she's going to die!"

Tyler then sprang into action and lifted the door of Caroline's cage. The blonde slid out and opened Erin's cage, and I crawled out. Caroline then put my arm over her shoulder and helped me out of the trailer where Jules grabbed me and pointed the gun at my back.

I locked eyes with Tyler, the betrayal clear within me. He looked away and I whimpered in pain. Suddenly, all of the werewolves clutched their heads in pain, and when Jules let go of me, I tumbled to the ground. I heard my name being called by several different voices, but I just welcomed the deep black abyss.

Stefan rushed to his girlfriend's side and ripped his skin open with his teeth. Damon and Caroline also crowded around the doppelgänger, praying that she wasn't dead. Stefan couldn't feel her taking the blood, and he pleaded, "C'mon Erin, please live, please live. I love you so much, please stay with me."

Caroline looked at Damon's reaction when he heard his brother, and she could see the sadness evident on his face. The blonde vampire didn't like Damon, but she did have to admit that he was different when he was with Erin. It was a nice change.

Stefan sighed in relief as he finally felt her start to take the blood. He kissed Erin's forehead and repeated, "I love you." Jonas then appeared as the werewolf became unconscious. "Elijah made a promise to Erin, and I'm here to see it's upheld." He then looked at Erin's bloody form and added, "He definitely won't like this. You need to go."

Jonas then turned to Tyler as Stefan picked up Erin and sped away, "When your friends awaken, give them a message. They need to get the hell out of this town."

Stefan brought Caroline home, and Damon carried Erin through the door of the Gilbert House. Elena poked her head out of the living room and rushed to her sisters' aid, along with Jeremy. "Stefan gave her some blood, and she's healing." Damon informed the siblings, and they both nodded. John then strolled through the hallway and uttered, "As long as she's alive and doesn't die in the next 24 hours."

Elena glared at her father and Jeremy took Erin from Damon. The Gilbert kids laid Erin down in her room and watched over her while John and Damon talked. "Personal feelings aside, Damon. I think you and Stefan will do all you can to protect Erin." John spoke, and Damon said, "I agree with that statement."

"So, I have a gift for you." John showed him the dagger and ash, and Damon snarked, "What the hell is that?" "This is how you kill an Original. In this vial is ash from a white oak tree that dates back to the creation of the Originals. The dagger must be dipped into the ash and then plunged into their heart."

Damon took it and gave the man a wary look, "How do you know all this, John?" "Isobel. She's very good at finding out things, but of course you know that." John mocked him, and Damon retorted, "A trait she shares with Erin, now where's Isobel?" "Let's just say that if she accomplishes what she's attempting, Klaus won't step foot in Mystic Falls. Where Erin's concerned, Damon, you and I are on the same side."

Jeremy then walked downstairs, interrupting the pair, "Erin's awake, and she's taking a shower right now." Damon curtly nodded and took the white ash and dagger with him as he left the house.

_Taking vampire blood is so weird_, I thought as I made my way to the kitchen. My body was jolted, but my mind was tired. I opened the refrigerator, and when I found nothing, I shut the door. I jumped as my father stood casually by the fridge. "You scared me." I stated as I grabbed a glass and poured water into it.

"I'm not here to fight with you, Erin." John spoke, and I replied, "Yeah, you're here to protect me, whatever that means. Got it, get in line." He stayed silent for a moment before walking towards me, "I thought you might want something, it was your mother's." "Isobel?" I questioned, and he shook his head.

"No. Your mother, Miranda. I remember her wearing it when she was young, I found it in a box of things your dad left me. Here, it's yours now." John handed the bracelet to me and I admired it. "Miranda and Grayson were your parents, Erin. And I know I'm nothing to you, you have no reason to believe me or trust me and I've done so many horrible things."

Tears gathered in my eyes and I let them drop as he went on, "But when you lost your parents, I lost my brother, my family. I lost my way. And I know I'll never be able to make it right with you and Elena, but I'm going to do everything I can to protect you and to protect this family." We then looked at each other for a few seconds before he walked away.

He always walked away. I stood there for a few moments, but then I heard Stefan call my name. I ran over to him and jumped into his arms. "Are you okay?" I asked him, and he scoffed, "I should be asking you that after everything that happened tonight." "Did you hear that?" Stefan nodded into my shoulder, and I vented, "I don't believe him, Stefan. I just don't."

I pulled out of the hug and questioned, "How's Caroline?" Stefan sighed and stated, "I think I need your help."

Stefan knocked on Caroline's door and waved to her. "Hey, what's going on?" She asked, confusedly, and he answered, "Well, I was a bit worried about you and about Erin after everything you guys went through tonight." "I'm fine." Caroline said, obviously not telling the truth.

"That's good, but just in case, I brought some backup." He motioned towards the three of us all lined up. "We're gonna slumber it." Elena told her, and Bonnie added as she came through the door, "WE haven't done it in ages." I walked in last, and I saw Caroline in tears.

I just pulled them all into a group hug, and looked at Stefan for a moment. I smiled at him, and he did the same to me.

At the same time, Damon and Andie were in Damon's bathtub. "So, what do you want, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome?" "I'm not that tall." Damon joked, which made Andie laugh. Damon leaned back in the tub and sighed, "I need a distraction." "Well, you can booty call me any time you want." Andie said, and Damon ignored her, "See, the thing is, Miss Sexy-Reporter-Girl, I have a problem I really need help with, and it's really messing with my mind."

"Oh, tell me about it." Andie cooed, and Damon told, "I'm in love with a woman I can never have." "I knew it, I know how to pick them. So, why can't you have her? She's with another man, I assume." Andie asked as she sipped the wine glass. "Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that I'm in love with her and it's driving me crazy, and I'm out of control."

"What, you don't trust yourself around her?" She implored, and Damon answered somberly, "I don't trust myself around anyone, Andie. I'm bad, Andie, I do things, I kill people." When Andie saw he was serious, Damon compelled her to not be afraid.

"Well, why do you kill people?" She questioned, and Damon sighed, "Because I like it, it's in my nature, it's who I am. But then I have to stay together to protect her and she wants me to be the better man, which means I can't be who I am. Do you see the problem I'm having Andie?"

"Well, maybe this is who you are now. Love does that, Damon. It changes us. And are you really sure she wants you to change who you are? Maybe she really does love you with your flaws and quirks. That is what real love is, looking past all of the bad stuff because you are completely in love with the person on the inside." Andie said.

"Just stop talking. Just kiss me, be my distraction." Damon came closer to her, and the two made out until Damon finally bit her.


	14. Crying Wolf

I groaned as my phone rang loudly the next morning, and when I rolled over to reach for it, I fell onto the ground. Grabbing my phone, I answered it, "Hello?" After hearing Elena and Caroline complaining in the background, I slid into the hall.

"How was the slumber party?" My super-hot vampire boyfriend asked. "Good, much needed. When can you and I have one?" I replied, and he hummed on the other line, "That can be arranged." "Okay, now, today. Take me far far away." I responded in a cheesy voice.

"Even with everything that's going on?" He questioned, and I nodded my head, "Because of everything that's going on." "And you're sure this has nothing to do with dodging your father who just got into town?" He taunted me, and I answered, "This has everything to do with that. But, I do need to take Elijah on the tour of the town, I promised him I would before the tea party this afternoon."

I heard Stefan make a cry of protest, but I just shushed him, "Hey Mister! Do you want to have a nice romantic weekend or not?" Stefan sighed and gave in, "In that case where would you like to go?" I smiled, knowing I got my way.

* * *

I quickly made my way to my house, showered, changed, and curled my hair. Hearing the doorbell ring, I answered the door and smiled at Elijah. "Hello Erin." He greeted me, and I welcomed him, "Hey Elijah. You can come in, I just need to grab the lists and some of the archives and then we can go." I grabbed a bag full of papers and swung it around my back, but when I bent down to retrieve a box, I pair of hands beat me to it.

"It would be terribly rude of me not to help you with these. You have been a wonderful host, after all." Elijah stated, and I thanked him. We put everything in the back of his car and left for the property lines. "I am actually very excited for this. My mom was really the only one in town that was as interested in history as I am." I told him, and he gave me an amused smile.

"Well, I would be honored to talk about history with you." Elijah politely replied, and I smiled as I pointed out the lines. "The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence." "Ah, the Fells. One of the Founding Families." He spoke, and I asked, "Why do you say it like that?"

"My research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier. There was a migration of townspeople from the Northeast, Salem to be precise." "Salem, Massachusetts, as in the Witch Trials?" I asked him, my interest piquing.

"Which means the everlotting Founding Families didn't actually found anything." He explained, and I replied, "I take offense to that as a member of a Founding Family myself. And do you mean you found this information from research or personal experience." Elijah smirked at that and stated, "You really are smarter than everyone thinks you are."

I blushed at that and changed the subject as I joked, "You know, it was probably the men who made a big deal about being Founders back in 1860. Men are very territorial." Elijah looked at something behind me as he agreed, "Yes we are."

Looking over, I spotted Alaric coming towards us. "Um, Elijah, this is Jenna's boyfriend, Alaric Saltzman." I introduced them confusedly. "Yeah, Jenna told me you were walking Elijah through the old property lines. I thought I'd tag along, you know being a history buff and all. Where to next?"

"I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners. Some say the descendants of the slaves were the true keepers of American history." Elijah spoke, and I nodded, touched Elijah's arm briefly and said, "I only brought the property lines, but I have the list in the car. Ric, do you mind helping me with those?"

Alaric followed me to the car, and I snapped, "What are you doing here? And don't give me that stupid, 'I'm a history buff' crap!" Alaric struggled for a bit before I gasped and asked, "Are you babysitting me?" When he said nothing, I questioned him, "Did Stefan put you up to this?"

He shook his head and stated, "Damon." I raised my eyebrows at that and asked, "Why?" Before Alaric could say anything else, Elijah walked next to me, "Alaric Saltzman, you're one of those people on Erin's list of loved ones to protect." Alaric nodded and I got the list out of the car. "Okay, none of this, let's go look at some freed slaves!" I tried to diffuse the tension, but I could tell Alaric was uncomfortable while Elijah smirked.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Alaric, Damon, and Andie crowded in a booth at the Grill. "So, other than a lecture on the history of Mystic Falls that I'm sure Erin gave you, anything out of Elijah?" Damon asked, and Alaric sighed, "No, it was boring. Though, Erin thinks he's charming."

"Of course she does, she always thinks the bad ones are good. You sound a bit protective. Doesn't he sound protective?" Damon spoke to Andie who replied, "You kinda do." "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here." Ric suggested, and Damon turned to Andie and kissed her after saying, "Andie's been compelled not to divulge my secret's out."

"This is too weird." Ric muttered, and then I walked into the Grill with Jenna and Elijah by my side. Jenna was going to escort Elijah to the tea party while I leave with Stefan. "Hey look, there's Erin with her new charming Original boyfriend." Damon uttered bitterly and then called us over.

I groaned as Jenna happily walked over to all of them. "I heard you two had quite the meeting of historical minds this morning." He said to us, and I agreed, "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Although, Ric did bail after about 10 minutes." Alaric shrugged after receiving the cold shoulder from Jenna, "You seriously know too much about this town. I'm not even sure how that much information fits into your brain, but it's pretty intimidating."

"As long as you know who's the superior intellect." I muttered under my breath, and I heard Damon and Elijah both chuckle at that. "Well, Erin has been an incredible hostess. I couldn't have had anyone better for the job." Elijah spoke, and I smiled at that as Jenna complained, "I wish I went, but I can really only stand Erin for a few minutes when she gets in her history mode. She's like Miranda that way."

Elijah then touched my shoulder comfortingly, knowing that I was sensitive about my parents. Damon and Alaric both gave heavy glares at the Original. I smiled at them all, except for Andie and Damon, as I said, "I'm sorry, guys, but I have to get going. I'll see you later, and have fun at the tea party!"

* * *

"Ready for our romantic weekend?" Stefan asked me, and I told, "Beyond ready. Now, let's go before John shows up and pretends to be a concerned father." Just as Stefan opened the front door, I got a text from Caroline. "Please tell me there's nothing wrong." Stefan muttered, and I gave him a thumbs up when Caroline texted back, _Have fun!_

"Nothing's wrong, it's just Caroline. Let's go." I spoke, and Stefan shut the door behind us.

* * *

I had a moment as we pulled up to the Lake House. "You alright?" Stefan asked, and he put his hand on my leg. I nodded and told him, "I'm good, I just haven't been back here since before." Stefan picked up on what I was talking about and he apologized, "Oh my God, Erin, listen just say the word, and we can get back on that highway and we can go anywhere you want."

I smiled and shook my head, "I've always loved it here, and I want it to stay that way. I was just having a moment." Stefan nodded and I opened the door of the car. I sighed as I walked into the house, memories coming back to me. I looked back and found Stefan standing at the door, "You don't have to wait out there, I'm fine."

"Oh, that's great because I'm stuck." He admitted, and I realized, "Oh my god, you can't get in." "It's not going to be a very romantic weekend unless you invite me inside." Stefan joked, and I revealed, "Stefan, I can't. When my parents died, they left this place to John Gilbert, he's the only one who can invite you in. I'm sorry, I completely forgot."

"You're kidding me, right?" He asked, shocked, and I dropped the act and smirked, "Stefan Salvatore, I hereby invite you into this home." My boyfriend shook his head and picked me up, "You are such a liar." I laughed as he kissed me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he put me down on the counter, our lips still locked.

After our makeout session, I let Stefan unpack and made my way out to the dock. I was nice and snug with my blanket around me as I looked out to the water. I heard footsteps behind me, and Stefan's voice asked, "Having another moment?" I felt him wrap his arms around me and kiss my cheek. I smiled and told, "I broke my arm when Elena pushed me and Jeremy off the dock. Elena and I were seven, he was six. My dad taught me to fish right off the edge of there." I pointed to the edge of the dock.

"So many memories, do you ever think about us? What our future will be like? Our memories?" I asked him softly, my voice just louder than a whisper. "I think there are a lot of conversations to be had about our future, of the kind of life we could have together." "Well, there's a box we shouldn't open." I snuggled into him.

"We can open it, whenever you're ready." Stefan said, and I admitted, "No, I'd rather just be here, now." "You know, this is a future memory." He said, and I shuddered as he spoke against my hair, "It's where your boyfriend whispered to you that he loved you." Our hands interlocked as he whispered, "I love you."

He kissed my cheek, and I knew that I would remember that moment for the rest of my life.

* * *

Stefan and I stood side by side, chopping vegetables for dinner. I paused for a brief moment and sipped a glass of wine, "My dad did all of the cooking too." "And your mom?" Stefan asked, and I replied and pointed to the couch, "She sat right there and watched. She couldn't cook along with Jeremy and Elena."

"I, on the other hand, am a wonderful cook." I spoke and fed him a pepper. He winked at me, and I shook my head as I beamed. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed the fire, "The fire's going out." "Oh yeah, I'll get more wood." Stefan said, but I stopped him, "No, I got it."

"No, no, it's cold outside." Stefan disagreed, but I argued playfully, "So I'll get a jacket." I strolled into one of the bedrooms and noticed it was my parents. Looking around distractedly, I picked up my mom's perfume and smelled it. "My mom's perfume. Jenna was supposed to pack all this up, but she kept putting it off. I don't blame her."

I opened the closet and threw Stefan a jacket. "Here, bundle up. It was my great grandad's, and you look very hot in it." I complimented him. "I look hot in your dead great grandad's jacket." He stated, and I added, "Beyond hot." Stefan then came up to me and started kissing me. I did not protest as we backed into the closet, but I was confused when he stopped and started knocking on the wall.

"What?" "It's hollowed." He answered and then started taking pieces of wood from the wall. Behind everything, there was a door, "What is it?" I asked him, and he responded, "It's a really good hiding place." He then threw the knob to the side and busted the door open.

Stefan then reached in and turned on a light to reveal loads of weapons hung on the wall. "Oh my god." I muttered. Stefan got out of the way so I could search the closet. I found a load of books in a box, "The Jonathan Gilbert journals. Jeremy had the one, but John said that there were others. His whole life's in here." I informed him, and he spoke, "I'll go get the firewood, I'll give you a moment."

I grabbed a handful of wooden bullets and inspected them, they seemed almost new.

* * *

Stefan lay on the ground of the shed in excruciating pain. "Don't move." Tyler ordered him, and Stefan pleaded, "Just help me get the bullet out, it punctured my heart. I need to get it out, I'm not gonna fight you." "I don't think so." Tyler rejected his pleas.

"Tyler, why are you doing this?" Stefan asked, panting. "I can't let you break the curse." Tyler stated, and Stefan put the pieces together, "You know about the curse." "You lied, you're liars, all of you, even Erin." He accused. "No, Tyler I swear to you. We don't wanna break the curse, Tyler, we don't wanna do that."

"Oh yeah? But I do." Tyler said before shooting Stefan in the leg, causing him to cry out. He then continued, "I can't be like this forever." "Tyler, I'm just trying to save Erin." Stefan said, trying to reach out to him, "Erin will be fine." This made Stefan snap his head towards the werewolf, "You don't know. They didn't tell you that part did they? Who are the liars now?" "Tell me what?"

Stefan said slowly, "In order to break the curse, Erin has to die." This made Tyler lower the gun and start worrying for his best friend in the house.

* * *

I shivered and pulled at my sweatshirt as I called out, "Are you growing the trees out there?" I was greeted with silence, which sent a cold chill down my spine. _Something's not right. _I looked around, trying to find the source of my uneasiness.

I called out Stefan's name, and again there was no answer. Arming myself with the knife from the kitchen, I walked hesitantly outside. "Stefan, what are you doing out there?" I was then grabbed from behind, but I stabbed them. Noticing that it was Brady, my torturer from a last night's events, I locked the door and sprinted inside the house.

Running upstairs, I heard the crash of the front door. "I can smell you." He taunted me, and tears came into my eyes as I thought of how his voice scared me. I took off my sweatshirt and placed it on the bed as I snuck into the other bedroom. When his back was turned, I silently slipped down the stairs.

I slammed the door so he would think I left, but I actually ran into the closet of weapons. I covered my mouth to hush my breathing as I clutched onto the weapon. He opened the closet, and I knew my opportunity came. I slammed the stake into his back and ran away with the knife in my grip.

Sprinting out the door, I heard Brady follow me. All of a sudden, the footsteps stopped, and I turned around and saw Brady's heart in my boyfriend's hand. I dropped the knife and ran into Stefan's arms, "It's okay, you're okay." He cooed, and we embraced each other until I noticed a figure, "Tyler?"

Tyler, the shell of my best friend, admitted, "I didn't know what they were going to do to you. I didn't, I just- I don't wanna be like this anymore." I untangled myself from my current boyfriend and came face to face with my ex. "I'm sorry, Erin." He apologized, and I hugged him, "It's okay."

* * *

Later, Stefan was on the phone when I walked into the living room. He hung up and turned to me, "That was Damon, we need to talk." I was confused and questioned, "What is it?" "He learned that Elijah's planning for you to die in the sacrifice ritual." I looked down when he said that, the guilt setting in.

"I know the deal I made, Stef. Elijah's very careful with his words; he promised to protect my friends, he never said a word about me." I informed him, and I knew he would be mad. "Wait, you knew that you weren't gonna survive this?" He asked, hurt was evident on his face.

"If it comes down to the people that I love getting killed or me, I know what my choice is gonna be." I spoke softly, and Stefan replied, "Erin, how could you stand out there earlier with me when I told you I loved you? Talking about making plans for the future when you don't even expect to have one." "I'm sorry, Stefan. I'm just trying to keep everyone I love safe, I'm trying to keep you safe." I argued.

"No, what you're doing is being a martyr." He told, and I defended myself, "How is that any different than when you say you would die to keep me safe?" "Because I've already lived! 162 years I have lived and you've barely begun, and now you wanna let yourself be killed? That's not heroic, that's tragic." Stefan then walked away from me, and I just felt lost.

* * *

**So...how did everyone like the chapter? Stefan finally told Erin that he loved her! There was no Elena in that chapter, but we did get a brief mention of her throwing J and E off the dock! I know that everyone wants me to kill Elena off, but sorry guys, she will be staying for a while. I was also wondering if you would like me to go back to doing scenes without Erin in them. I got pretty lazy with this chapter, but I really wanted to get the tour scene with Erin in because Elijah is so awesome and funny in that scene! Like? Hate? Love? Please review and tell me who you want Erin to be sired to and choose in the S3 finale! That really is the tricky part I'm trying to work out right now, but there is no doubt in my mind that whatever happens, it will be great!**

**xx smkbaby123**


	15. The Dinner Party

I read one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals as Stefan was outside. It was still tense, but I stood by my choice. With the book in my hand, I sat as Jonathan's words sunk in, _With the dying embers of the fire at Fell's Church, the scourge of the vampires had passed. And though war raged on around us, our town was safe from the demons of the night, or so we thought. The monsters we drove to their fiery deaths had begun new monsters._

Jonathan then accounted the death of Honoria and Thomas Fell. He went on and wrote, _I knew I was about to die, you cannot run from a vampire. I saw the vampire who killed me, I recognized him. It was Stefan Salvatore._

I turned to look at Stefan, who was skipping rocks, and I grew confused, _Why didn't he tell me?_

* * *

Stefan skipped rocks until his phone rang, "What's going on?" He asked his older brother, who answered, "Well, I showered, I shaved, I had breakfast. I'm very relaxed." "That makes one of us." Stefan replied.

"I did hear one piece of good news, though. Tyler Lockwood ran away from home last night." Damon informed him, and Stefan asked, "How do you know?" "Well, I heard it from Sheriff Forbes who heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood, thus ending our werewolf chapter and bring us to…" Stefan finished his brother's sentence, "Killing Elijah."

Damon fiddled with the dagger in his hand, "Exactly." "Well it's not gonna be easy, he's crafty." Stefan responded, and Damon countered, "Well, we've got a crafty little dagger." "He's an Original, we don't know what all that encompasses."

"Well, Stefan don't worry, I'm gonna dot all my T's. I don't want any surprises." "Wow, Damon. Are you actually gonna be careful for once?" Stefan mocked his brother who answered, "Yes, Stefan. I've become you, how tragic for both of us. I've gotta run, I've got a murder to plan, busy day." The two then hung up, and Stefan looked towards the house.

* * *

I looked up from the journal as Stefan made his way into the house. There was an awkward silence until I asked, "Are you still mad?" Stefan scoffed and answered, "Yes, I'm still mad." "We had a difference in opinion, Stefan. We're not always going to agree on everything." I reasoned, and Stefan retorted, "Erin, you've agreed to sacrifice yourself to Klaus. To say that we have a difference in opinion is the understatement of the century."

I tried to bring up the mood a little by joking, "You would know." Stefan cracked a smile at that, and asked, "What does Jonathan Gilbert have to say?" I sighed and spoke, "A lot, actually. It's insane the things he wrote in his journal, what he kept from the founding families, stuff that nobody knows, stuff that you never told me."

Handing him the journal, he opened to the page I was reading and nodded. He shut the book and told, "We were angry at the founding families for what they did to Katherine, we wanted revenge. I didn't know about Jonathan Gilbert's ring yet, I didn't know that he would survive." "He described you as a monster." I whispered, trying not to be too touchy.

"That's what I was." He stated, and I tried to make sense of Stefan, my Stefan, being a monster. He looked at me and said, "I want you to know the truth. And I want you to hear it from me. Weeks after I became a vampire, I relished in it, I took it to the darkest place I could." Stefan continued with the story, and I was shocked at what I heard.

When I thought about it, it really did make sense. Stefan was the hero, my hero, and when he shut off his emotions, he became the complete opposite of who he really was. "I wasn't myself then, I was full of guilt, what I did to my father, my brother, I had to turn it off. It was the only way I could survive." "It sounds like you were Damon." I told, and he shook his head, "I was worse."

* * *

Damon woke Katherine up in the tomb and gave her some blood. When she started to gulp it down, Damon spoke, "I come bearing gifts. I didn't have time to properly shop, but I did get a couple things from Erin's closet. Wow, that blood did the trick, you're almost as pretty as Elena. But, you're still not up to Erin's standards."

"What is it you want, Damon?" Katherine asked, and Damon smirked, "Guess who's back in town? You're old friend John Gilbert." Katherine raise her eyebrows at this and said, "Really, why?" Damon shrugged and answered, "He said he loves his daughters, wants to protect Erin from Elijah and big bad Klaus."

"Touching." Katherine stated sarcastically while feeling a little jealous of Erin, she had a whole group of people willing to save her. "He told me this old wise tale about how to kill an Original." Damon informed her, and Katherine drawled, "And you want to know if it's true. If it was, I wouldn't tell you." "And why not? I mean, you want Elijah and Klaus dead as much as I do."

Katherine changed into other clothes and told, "Klaus yes, Elijah no. He's compelled me to stay in here, and if he dies I'm stuck forever." "Sucks for you." Damon smirked as Katherine taunted, "Forget it, Damon. Killing Elijah would be a suicide mission, you can't do it."

"Can so." "Can't." Katherine argued, and Damon countered, "Even with a dagger and a little white oak ash?" Katherine froze begged, "No, Damon. If you kill Elijah then I'm stuck in here forever." "You're really scared." Damon observed, and she pleaded, "Just get me out of here first. And then I'll help you kill Elijah, or protect Erin, whatever you want."

"I get you out of here and your ass is sipping Klaus free margaritas in some unknown island somewhere, no way." Damon said, and Katherine shook her head, "That's not true, I'll stay. I like Erin, and I'll protect her, okay? Just please Damon, don't do it."

Damon then thanked her, "You've told me everything I needed to know." "I've told you nothing." She argued, and Damon stated, "You have, you have indeed confirmed that it is possible to kill an Original, which I will do tonight."

* * *

I looked out at the view as Stefan told, "For weeks I kept spiraling, completely driven for the desire for blood. Hunt, prey, kill, it was all I knew." He handed me a cup of coffee, and I took it gratefully. "How come no one caught on to what you were doing?" I asked, and he answered, "There was a war going on. The thing about war is the endless amount of blood supply."

My boyfriend then spoke of a time where he met someone, "Alexia Branson as she was known back then." "Lexi? Your other best friend Lexi? That's how you met her?" I questioned him, and he nodded. "What was she even doing in Mystic Falls?" "She had heard it was a good place for vampires to go. Had no idea that they had all been massacred. She needed a place to crash, so I brought her home with me."

As he shared the story, I noticed that he seemed sad, "You okay?" Stefan nodded and spoke, "Talking about her just made me think of things I'd rather forget." I nodded, knowing that he meant how Damon killed her, and I wouldn't dare mention it, something I knew Elena would do.

* * *

Damon opened the door for Elijah, "Thank you for coming, please come in." "Can I say that if you have less than honorable intensions about how this evening is going to proceed, then I suggest you reconsider." Elijah stated, and Damon was impressed with his judgment.

"No nothing dishonorable, just getting to know you." Damon lied, and Elijah nodded and walked towards the younger vampire, "That's good. Because although the lovely Erin and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I'll kill you and everyone in this house. Are we clear?" "Crystal." Damon answered, and Elijah then noticed Jenna.

"Jenna, it's wonderful to see you again, how are you?" Elijah buttered Jenna up with a compliment, and Damon gritted his teeth as he hoped to just kill the guy already.

Jenna poured some wine into Damon's glass and spoke, "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town." Damon hummed and said, "Do tell." Elijah modestly told, "Well, as I mentioned to Erin earlier, a faction of settlers migrated here after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years, they developed a community where they could feel safe from persecution."

Jenna then stated, "Because they were witches." Andie then chimed in, "You know there is no tangible proof that there were witches in Salem." "Andie's a journalist, big on facts." Damon then winked to his 'girlfriend' from across the table.

"The lore says that a wave of anti-witch hysteria broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up, tied to stakes in a field together, and burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around, could you pass that?" Elijah brushed it off.

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society, and above all, no one tell Erin. I'm sure she would try to locate the site." When Jenna said this, Elijah's head shot up, and Damon couldn't help but notice. "Why do you want know the location of the alleged witch massacre?"  
Elijah shrugged and lied, "Healthy historian's curiosity, of course. I'm sure if Erin was here, she would understand that." "Of course." Damon stated bitterly.

* * *

Stefan walked back into the room as I kept reading, "Jonathan Gilbert got crazier and crazier. I guess that's what happens when you spend your life obsessed with vampires." I put the book down and grabbed another as my boyfriend just watched me.

I opened to a random page in the journal and widened my eyes, "He researched the Originals." I said, and Stefan sat next to me, "You're kidding." "Later in life, look. Pages and pages of questions and scribbles." I stopped when I landed on a page with a drawing.

"The wood from one tree and one tree alone, an ancient white oak, would bring death to an Original vampire. When the tree was burned, all hope was thought lost. He was trying to figure out how to kill an Original. But the ash from the tree was saved, and witches formed the dagger in which the ashes could be bonded. This alchemic bond provides the necessary poison… I wonder if it's true. I mean, do you think this dagger actually exists?"

Stefan said my name, and I stopped talking for a second, "I know it does. John gave it to Damon." I tried to make sense of it, and repeated, "John gave the weapon to Damon, the one that could kill Elijah? This one?" Stefan nodded and I kept reading, "It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it."

He then snatched the book from me and read it through, "John's trying to have Damon killed." Stefan then called Damon, who didn't pick up, so he tried Alaric. "What is going on, Stefan?" I questioned, and he replied, "Damon is planning on killing Elijah. Tonight." My mouth dropped open and I couldn't say anything.

* * *

Andie asked Ric to grab her notebook, and Damon decided to semi confront John, "Elijah, did John tell you that he's Erin's Uncle/ Father?" "Yes, I am well aware of that, Erin told me." Elijah admitted, and John didn't like the idea of Elijah hanging around with his daughter. "Of course she hates him, so there's no need to keep him on the endangered species list." Andie got up to get the notebook, and John spoke, "What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how you intend on killing Klaus."

"Gentlemen, there's probably a few things we need to get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Erin. I allow Erin to remain living in her house with a life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away and you'll never see her again." Elijah grimly told them, and he meant every word.

When Andie sat down and started to talk, Alaric came up from behind the Original and stabbed him in the chest with the dagger. He pulled it out, and stated, "Get him out of here before Jenna comes back with dessert."

* * *

I stood outside, wanting to be alone right now. I couldn't believe that they were trying to kill Elijah, they went behind my back. I heard the door open and close behind me, "Erin, we need to talk about this." "What good is talking if you and Damon are just going to lie to me." I countered.

"If you don't like my decisions, that's fine, there is nothing I can do about that. But if you ever go behind my back again, I'll-" Stefan cut me off, "You're gonna what? Hm? What are you going to do Erin?" "It's my life!" I argued, and he responded, "Exactly, it's your life! And I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure you live it."

"Then what, this trip through the past, was there any truth to it, or were you just distracting me?" I questioned him, and I regretted those words once they left my mouth. "I was telling you about a time when I thought everything was lost, when I had given up because that is exactly what you are doing right now."

I shook my head and said, "That's not what-" He interrupted me again and yelled, "Yes it is, even if you don't want to admit it. You are giving up, and Lexi wouldn't let me give up, I'm not gonna let you. Lexi showed me that there was another way, and from that day forward I started fighting for it. For my own survival."

He then took my face in his hands, "That's all I want you to do, I just want you to fight for it." Stefan then kissed my forehead and walked into the house, leaving me to my thoughts. _Elijah understood. _I sighed and just went back into the house after a few more minutes.

I went through the journal about the Originals again when Stefan came down, "Elijah's dead, Alaric did it." I closed my eyes and sighed as Stefan sat next to me, "I know you cared for him in your own way, that's who you are, and I love you for it."

"Originals believed in truth and honor. It was forbidden for a vampire to kill another vampire, so the dagger would take both lives. And as long as the dagger stays in place, the Originals is for all intents and purposes dead." I told him, and Stefan immediately called Damon.

* * *

Stefan told me the plan, but I chose to ignore his and Damon's scheme. I would do this my way. Stefan grabbed my arm and informed me, "He's here." Elijah blew the door down, and I turned to Stefan, "You have to go, I need to talk to him alone." Stefan was about to disagree, but I stated, "It's okay, he can't come in the house."

I then heard his voice from the doorway, "You know, I might not be able to enter this house, but I'm a very patient man, I'll wait you out." I grabbed the knife from the counter and walked towards the door, "They shouldn't have done what they did."

"The deal is off." Elijah stated, and I argued stubbornly, "I'm renegotiating." "You have nothing left to negotiate with." He spoke, and that was when I pulled out the knife. "I'd like to see you lure Klaus into Mystic Falls after the doppelganger bleeds to death." "Neither Stefan nor Damon would let you die." Elijah said, making me surprised, but I hid it.

"You're right, they won't. Stefan will feed me his blood to heal me and I'll kill myself and become a vampire, just like Katherine did." I said and gaged his reaction, and I continued as he contemplated it, "So unless you want that to happen again, promise me the same as before, promise me you won't harm anyone that I love even if they've harmed you."

Elijah's mouth open and closed for a few moments before he answered, "I'm sorry, Erin, but I'm going to have to call your bluff." I nodded and stated, "Wrong choice." I then stabbed myself in the stomach, and pain shot through me as I felt the blood leave my body.

I groaned in agony and Elijah rushed towards me, but he was blocked by the barrier. "Yes, yes you can have your deal. Let me heal you." He pleaded, and I choked out, "Give me your word." "I give you my word." I weakly stumbled into his arms, and I felt him softly kiss the top of my head.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered and stabbed him with the dagger. Elijah then fell to the ground, and after a second, so did I. But, Stefan caught me and fed me his blood. I pulled away and Stefan held me as Damon spoke, "A little tip, don't pull the dagger out."

* * *

I watched as Stefan and Damon loaded Elijah's body into the basement of the Boarding House. Stefan held me at his side as Damon grabbed the moonstone from Elijah's pocket. "Our little moonstone bar of soap, I'll hold onto this." "So that's it? As long as we keep the dagger in there then he stays dead." I repeated what I said earlier, still unsure. "Pretty much." Damon answered me, and I nodded and sighed.

I was about to walk out, but I turned around and said, "You know, you guys want me to fight? Fine, I'll fight, but if we're going to do this, you two can't keep anything from me anymore. From this moment on, we're doing it my way. I'm keeping my promise to Rose."

The brothers nodded, and I could see the emotion and admiration in Damon's eyes. "Okay, goodnight." I then walked upstairs and into Stefan's room. Changing out of my bloody clothes, I jumped into bed and turned off the light.

A few minutes later, I felt Stefan's arms around me, and I cuddled into him. I felt safe in his arms, and strong feelings surfaced whenever I was near him, or even when I thought about him. _I'm in love with Stefan._

* * *

Damon heard the water running in his bathroom as he opened the door, "Andie? I thought you left." He then walked into his bathroom, _Erin? No way, it couldn't be, Elena? Maybe…no. Katherine. _Katherine faced him and walked out of the shower. Damon's face dropped, and Katherine asked, "Hello Damon, do you have a robe?"

"How did you get out?" He asked, and she smirked, "I knew that if I begged you not to kill Elijah, that's exactly what you'd do. Little known fact: Originals can compel vampires, but as soon as they die, compulsion wears off." "And you knew." He stated.

Katherine then said, "And I'm still here, I didn't run. I meant what I said, Damon, I'm going to help you and Erin. Well, maybe I'll kill Elena while I'm at it. So, how about that robe?"


End file.
